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Ghent University
Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Thesis
Deciphering L33t5p34k
Internet Slang on Message Boards
Supervisor:
Prof. Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen
Master Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for the degree of ―Master in
de Taal- en Letterkunde – Afstudeerrichting:
Engels‖
By Eveline Flamand
2007-2008
i
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my promoter, professor Anne-Marie Vandenbergen, for agreeing on
supervising this perhaps unconventional thesis. Secondly I would like to mention my brother,
who recently graduated as a computer engineer and who has helped me out when my
knowledge on electronic technology did not suffice. Niels Cuelenaere also helped me out by
providing me with some material and helping me with a Swedish translation. The people who
came up to me and told me they would like to read my thesis, have encouraged me massively.
In moments of doubt, they made me realize that there is an audience for this kind of research,
which made me even more determined to finish this thesis successfully. Finally, I would also
like to mention the members of the Filologica forum, who have been an inspiration for me.
ii
Index
iii
1
1. Introduction
The most frequently heard question any master student is confronted with, is without a doubt:
―What is the subject of your thesis?‖ My answer was: ―I am writing a thesis about thirteen
hundred thirty seven.‖ This statement was usually followed by a silence, in which my
conversation partner was trying to figure out which historical event took place in that year. I
have to admit, I was deliberately trying to confuse them. I could have said ―I am writing a
thesis about Leet,‖ but this probably would have left them clueless still. Explaining Leet or
Leetspeak is an online slang, makes most of them smile and nod in approval, though I doubt if
it made the matter crystal clear to all of them.
Being a student at the Faculty of Language and Literature and a webmaster in my spare time,
I decided to combine these two passions of mine for my master paper: language and the
Internet. As the administrator of our student union‘s message board, I am confronted with
both on a daily basis. Internet slang has been fascinating me for a while now, and though a lot
of recent studies are dedicated to Internet language, only few of them mention Leetspeak. If
there is some recognition of its existence, it is usually vaguely referred to as ―the language of
hackers‖ or ―the language of geeks‖. I am not a hacker, nor would I consider myself to be a
prototypical ―geek,‖ and yet I am familiar with Leetspeak and make use of it sporadically.
The influence of this slang on our language use on the Internet should not be underestimated,
and is worth an investigation.
The internet is often referred to as ―the information superhighway‖. Information can be spread
among a large group of people in only a matter of seconds. This allowed the slang to be
spread very quickly among internet communities. However, at the same time, it endangers the
survival of Leetspeak. One can only wonder whether the slang will fall as fast as it has risen.
It is necessary to examine this playful slang with a peculiar origin now. ―Nothing on the
Internet lasts forever‖ is an expression which contains a lot of truth. While you are reading
this introduction, thousands of things are being permanently deleted from the World Wide
Web, making room for new material. Contrary to popular belief, the Internet is a finite place.
2. Methodology
This master paper consists of two main subjects: one is Leetspeak, and the other is the use of
language on message boards in general. The goal of this master paper is to decipher
Leetspeak, strip it down to its essence and to investigate its influence on general Internet
2
language (also called Netspeak). Analyzing Leetspeak and Netspeak in one research and
comparing them will enable us to do two things. On one hand, we will be able to recognize
the influence of Leetspeak on Netspeak. On the other hand, we will be able to correct some
misconceptions about what Leetspeak really is when we look at the universal language use on
the internet.
First of all I will focus on the general features of Netspeak. This dissertation will largely be
based on ―Language and the Internet,‖ written by David Crystal, a linguist who has had a
large influence in this discipline. I will illustrate the theory with extracts taken from message
boards. The three message boards which I used as a source for data, are described below.
The second main part is entirely dedicated to Leetspeak. I will discuss the history of
Leetspeak and explain why it should be considered a slang. I will then describe the
characteristics of Leetspeak. As very little sources describe the linguistic features of
Leetspeak, this is where my own experience with the slang will be of use. Screenshots from
an online game (Counterstrike) will serve as an illustration. In the following chapter I will
deal with some of the misconceptions about Leetspeak. I will also make a distinction between
Leet as a slang and Leet as a subculture.
In the last main part of this paper I will compare Leetspeak and Netspeak and discuss the
slang‘s influence on language use on message boards. Several linguistic trends I detected on
the message boards will be scrutinized. Finally, I will devote short chapter to the use of
Leetspeak outside the Internet.
Three message boards have been chosen to serve as a source for my corpus: 4chan,
Geekstinkbreath and the Filologica Forum. All of the messages have been retrieved between
December 2007 and July 2008, but there is no guaranty that these messages will still be
available on the Internet in the near future. Though other similar studies on language and the
Internet do not mention authorship (for example the research in ―The Multilingual Internet‖
edited by Brenda Danet and Susan C. Herring), I will accompany my extracts with the
nicknames of the people who wrote them. In doing so, I am respecting the authors‘ e-privacy,
but at the same time I acknowledge that the messages have been written by someone, an
identity out there on the World Wide Web. As language on the Internet changes rapidly, I will
also include the time in which the message was posted.
3
2.1 4chan
The first message board chosen for this master paper is 4chan (http://www.4chan.org). This is
an image-based messages board
1
on which anyone can post anonymously, without registering.
It was founded in September 2003 by Christopher Poole, who was only 15 years old at the
time. He wanted to create an American version of the Japanese site 2chan, because he was
fascinated with Japanese comics and television shows. (Brophy-Warren, online) The board
consists of several subforums, each of them dedicated to a different subject. Because of the
large size of 4chan, this paper will only include messages from the boards listed under
―Interests‖ and ―Creative‖. The boards are often referred to by abbreviations, listed in the
tables below.
Video Games
/v/
Comics & Cartoons
/co/
Technology
/g/
Television & Film
/tv/
Weapons
/k/
Auto
/o/
Animals & Nature
/an/
Traditional Games
/tg/
Sports
/sp/
Table 2.1: 4chan boards listed under ―Interests‖
Oekaki
/i/
Papercraft & Origami
/po/
Photography
/p/
Food & Cooking
/ck/
Artwork/Critique
/ic/
Wallpapers/General
/wg/
Music
/mu/
Fashion
/fa/
Toys
/toy/
Table 2.2: 4chan boards listed under ―Creative‖
The users of 4chan are known for their use of Leetspeak and Lolspeak (cfr. 4.5.4). Moreover,
Lolspeak is often said to have originated on the boards of 4chan. It is therefore not surprising
that the majority of messages from this corpus are derived from this image-based board. In
fact, when I explained the subject of my master paper to my gamer friends, most of them
1 The main goal of image-based message boards is to share images, however it is not compulsory to attach
pictures to a message.
4
suggested I should choose 4chan as one of my corpus sources. Because of its wide range of
categories and the possibility to post anonymously, 4chan is a very popular board. The board
therefore provides us with numerous posts to choose from. The other side of the coin is that
the posts are only recorded for a small amount of time. By the time this master paper is
completed, most of the messages will have disappeared from the board. Some posts might
have been saved in the 4chan archive
2
. The way in which this archive works, is explained on
the webpage‘s faq3: ―The archive takes requests from 4chan users when they think that a
thread is archive worthy. When enough people vote for archival a thread is archived. After
archival the threads are pending to be reviewed and several janitors go through them and pick
the best ones to officially publish them in the archive.‖
2.2 Geekstinkbreath
―Geekstinkbreath‖ is a website dedicated to the band ―Green day‖. Its name is based on the
title of one of the tracks on their album ―Insomniac,‖ which was released in 1995. The site
provides a message board (http://www.geekstinkbreath.net/board/), which I have chosen as a
second source for data. While the larger part of the forum is preserved for threads about the
band, their music and members, there is room for discussions on various subjects on the
general board. There even are subforums for people with native languages other than English:
Croatian, Italian, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish and Australian
subforums are listed at the bottom of the board index.
2.3 Filologica Forum
―Filologica‖ is a student union for those who study language and literature at the university of
Ghent. It was founded in March 2004. Since I currently am the webmaster of Filologica
myself, the Filologica forum (http://forum.filologica.be) was an obvious choice for me. The
main language of the message board is Dutch, but, as will be proven in this research, the users
make use of Leetspeak as well. From this it can be concluded that Leetspeak exceeds the
boundaries of language difference and can be mixed in messages written in any language.
3 Frequently asked questions
5
3. Netspeak
Before we can investigate the characteristics of Leetspeak, we must take a closer look at the
language use on the Internet in general. This will enable us to differentiate between what
Leetspeak truly is and what is characteristic of universal electronic discourse. Because the
slang is based on the English language, only the features of English language use on the
Internet (―Weblish‖ or ―Netspeak‖) will be discussed.
The Internet is not only an information superhighway, but it is a communicative power as
well: it has created new social circumstances. The invention of other communication media in
the past, such as writing, printing, phoning, faxing and text-messaging, have not only had an
influence on our daily lives, but on our language as well. The invention of the Internet is no
exception to this rule. David Crystal has written a book on the subject of language and the
Internet. In this book he examines the features of language on the internet, or Netspeak, as he
calls it. Other synonyms are for example ―Netlish,‖ ―Weblish‖ and ―Cyberspeak‖. What
happens to our language when we communicate with others through the medium of this rather
new technology? Is there such thing as one clear-cut Internet language or is it a matter of
several varieties? Crystal points out that the different types of online communication have to
be taken into account. He distinguishes between seven online situations, each of which creates
a language variety. There are rules in each language situation which govern the use of
language. In comparison, the language used in a pub will for example differ from the
language in court. For anyone to function normally in any situation, they must respect the
rules imposed by that situation. As Crystal explains: ―[…] if people do decide to speak or
write without paying any attention to the sociolinguistic expectations and mores of their
interlocutors, and of the community as a whole, they must expect to be judged accordingly.‖
(Crystal: 2006, 7) In other words: if people want to be accepted, they must live up to the
expectations of their peers. The distinction between written language varieties is based on five
features: discourse, lexical, graphic, orthographic and grammatical features.
3.1 The seven internet situations
Technological evolution is at high speed, as David Crystal noticed. In the first version of his
book ―Language and the internet,‖ he distinguished between five electronic situations in
which language is used. Only five years later, in 2006, he adds two more. From this point of
view the term ―superhighway‖ does not only refer to the quick accessibility to information the
Internet provides us with. The system itself changes rapidly as well. The seven main groups,
6
according to Crystal, are e-mail, synchronous chatgroups, asynchronous chatgroups, virtual
worlds, World Wide Web, instant messaging and blogging. He investigates the distinctive
features of language use in these different situations.
The seven internet situations have certain linguistic properties in common. These overlapping
features are the core of what is Netspeak. In determining what is Internet language, two
elements need to be taken into account. Each internet user is restricted by hardware and
software. Hardware is an umbrella term for the physical parts of your computer, such as your
screen, printer, mouse and keyboard. Software on the other hand is a term used to describe
computer programmes. Keyboards (hardware) provide us with a limited number of symbols.
You can add special signs to a text by making use of ASCII (American Standard Code for
Information Interchange) codes, provided that your text editor (software) recognizes them.
For example, the combination of holding down the alt key and typing down the number
sequence ―0165‖ should make the symbol ―¥‖ appear on your screen.
In the following chapters the features which apply to Internet language on message boards
will be discussed, as the focus of this master paper is on this type of online communication.
The characteristics will be illustrated with extracts from the corpus.
3.2 Characteristics of Netspeak
3.2.1 Discourse features
Internet language is a combination of written and spoken language. Though at first sight the
Internet is dominated by written text, the term ―Netspeak‖ already reveals that the Internet
language is highly influenced by oral language. The online interaction shares certain
characteristics with the act of speech: ―They are time-governed, expecting or demanding
immediate response; they are transient, in the sense that messages may be immediately
deleted (as in e-mails) or be lost to attention as they scroll off the screen (as in chatgroups);
and their utterances display much of the urgency and energetic force which is characteristic of
face-to-face conversation.‖ (Crystal: 2006, 32) Traces of speech included in the extract below
are the loose sentence construction (the suspension points and the lack of a main verb in the
end) and the expression ―geez‖.
1. ―That must be the new "SuperSloMo Nuclear Weapon" that sci-fi and other artists
always seem to draw up. Why people think such events happen in "TV time" where
7
you get to see what's going on is beyond me.
The two viewers there and the rest of the cityscape would have been either incinerated
in a few millionths of a second or they'd be blind (could be already, the image doesn't
show that much) but... geez... by the time the mushroom had grown that large, that
whole place... wasted.
/nitpick
4‖
Anonymous - 03/05/08 – 4chan
People on message boards are well aware of the asynchronous aspect of their communication.
They know the reaction signals are delayed, but that does not make the waiting any less
awkward. The eager repetition of question marks and plea for answers expose the author‘s
anxiety in the extract below.
2. ―My favourite songs are – 10,000 light years;; when I come around;; Jesus Of
Suburbia && Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
What‘s yours??? Anyone??
Please write backk=]‖
lawrawwr – 03/12/2008 – geekstinkbreath
Back-channelling devices like ―yeah‖ and ―indeed‖ serve as feedback during conversations.
They signal that the speaker is being listened to and understood. Even though the
communication on message boards is asynchronous, these devices can be applied in this type
of communication. ―What is surprising, of course, is that sometimes these close-binding links
may appear in messages separated by long periods of time. The impression is always of a
rapidly moving conversation – until we look at the headers, to find that G wrote his message
in April and H wrote her reaction in December.‖ (Crystal: 2006, 148)
When several members are discussing a topic and are posting at a high rate, the order of
messages can get interrupted. Other messages can creep in between a message and the
message it is are replying to. To indicate who you are addressing, you can add the nickname
of that person in the beginning of your post. The nickname is usually preceded by ―@,‖
indicating you are directing yourself at that person. The person in the extract below is
addressing the member ―Nimrodel‖.
3. ―@Nimrodel: zijn we niet gewoon allen zo?‖
Jeroentje C – 01/17/08 – Filologica Forum
4 Leetspeak, see 4.3.4
8
The caret can be used as an arrow to refer to the author of the previous message or the
previous message itself. The opening angle bracket on the other hand can serve to indicate the
author himself, because the personal information on a member (nickname, post number,
forum rank) is usually located at the left side of a message.
4. ―^ was late in the thread too
< had to do the same‖
Spider Tre – 06/13/08
You can also cite other messages in your post. Most message boards provide special quote
tools which put a citation in a separate box in your post. Both the Filologica Forum and
Geekstinkbreath offer these tools. It is not uncommon to encounter several layers of quotes in
a post. In figure 3.1 Kurtini quoted Bloodraine, and was then again quoted by Bloodraine.
Figure 3.1: Quotations on Geekstinkbreath (http://www.geekstinkbreath.net) 03/28/08
If these separate boxes are not provided by the system, angle brackets can be used to indicate
a quotation as well. The text preceded by the brackets in the following extract is a quotation.
The actual comment in the extract is ―You noobs5 better go back to Google.‖
5. ―>aircrack
>or you can try downloading the various WEP
6
-cracking utilities and attempt to break
the key on your own.
You noobs better go back to Google.‖
Anonymous - 02/17/08 - 4chan
5 See 4.3.2.1
6 Wireless Equivalent Privacy
9
3.2.2 Lexical features.
New lexicon was required to describe the technological novelties of the Internet. A distinction
should be made between terminology associated with computer science and lexicon reserved
for Internet-restricted situations. ―Terms such as cable, disk, bit, binary, and computer form
part of the jargon of science and technology which extends well beyond the Net.‖ (Crystal:
2006, 87) A couple of words out of the specific Internet jargon are discussed in the extracts
below.
6. ―thread 404rd‖
Anonymous - 12/20/07 – 4chan
A ―404‖ is part of an error message which appears on your screen when a link7
is not
working. This error message, referred to with ―404 message‖ or ―not found message,‖ occurs
when the content of a page has been moved or deleted. In this extract ―404‖ is turned into a
verb. Message boards consist of several threads or topics. Each thread is devoted to a specific
subject. If the message above is interpreted literally, it means the thread is not working. The
fact that the author was able to write and post the text, contradicts this interpretation. It is used
here in a figurative way: the user does not agree with what has been posted in the thread, and
therefore thinks it is full of errors.
7. ―I didn't see any STALKER
8 threads and I've f5'd at least three times, what gives?‖
Anonymous - 07/13/08 – 4chan
The ―f5‖ key on your keyboard enables you to refresh a page. Refreshing a page means you
re-download the content of that page in your browser
9
, in order for you to see if any changes
have been made since you last visited. This extract provides us with another example of word-
class conversion: ―f5‖ is used as a verb.
8. ―Crap. I missed it due to family stuff, and I can't torret
10
. can someone rapidshare this
please?‖
Anonymous - 03/01/08 – 4chan
BitTorrent is a programme which enables people to share files
11
with each other. Instead of
copying a file from one user to another, the programme will copy pieces of the file from
7 A link or a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address where information is stored on the Internet
8 Meaning S.t.a.l.k.e.r., a video game: http://www.stalker-videogame.com/
9 A browser is software which enables you to access the Internet. The most common browsers are Internet
Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera.
10 This is a typographical error, the author actually meant to type ―torrent‖.
10
several clients
12
. Because you are downloading
13
from different sources, the process will be
less constraining and will cost less time. This is called ―peer-to-peer file sharing‖. Rapidshare
refers to a site (http://www.rapidshare.com), on which you can upload
14
files for free. Both
―torrent‖ and ―rapidshare‖ have been converted and are used as a verb.
9. ―There is a fake torrent of this, if anybody wanna
15
burn sum
16 bandwidth.‖
Anonymous - 02/13/08 – 4chan
A fake torrent is a file which has a different content than is claimed. Anti-piracy companies
can create fake torrents to prevent people from illegally sharing software or copyright
material. Some fake torrents are maliciously created by individuals and will put viruses on
your computer. Each user connected to the global network can only download a restricted
amount of data on a monthly basis. The term ―bandwidth‖ refers to measure of data flow rate.
―Burning up bandwidth‖ is equal to ―wasting you bandwidth‖.
10. ―Googling 'Compal' turned up a Taiwanese webpage?‖
Anonymous - 07/13/08 – 4chan
―To google‖ means to look something up using ―Google‖. ―Google‖ is a popular online
search engine. The verb has officially been acknowledged and was added to the Oxford
English Dictionary in 2006. (see 6)
The Netspeak lexicon is very specific and incomprehensible for anyone who is unfamiliar
with the Internet. Some words, for example ―file‖ or ―to download‖ can immediately be
recognized by anyone who often browses the Internet, because they are used so frequently.
Other terms are more rare and require a more profound knowledge of electronic technology,
such as ―torrent‖.
An illustration of the difficulty level of the Internet lexicon to people not so familiar with the
Internet, is the reception of ―Boten Anna‖. Basshunter is a Swedish deejay who released this
song in 2006. ―Boten Anna‖ is a bot on an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel. IRC is a system
consisting of several channels (or chat rooms) in which users can talk synchronously on
several topics. A bot is a programme that guards the channels. It can ban users or do smaller
tasks like telling the time. At the end of the song Anna reveals that she is an actual person and
11 A (computer) file is a general term for pictures, movies, text documents,…
12 Clients or computers
13 Downloading is taking something from the Internet and saving it temporarily or permanently to your computer
14 Uploading is putting files on the Internet, so that others can download it
15 Wants to
16 Some
11
not an automated robot. Many people misinterpreted the lyrics and thought the song was
about a boat. Well aware of this common misinterpretation of his song, Basshunter mockingly
appears on a boat in the corresponding video clip. The Dutch version of the song, made by
―De gebroeders Ko,‖ is about a boat, though the producers realized that that was not the
original meaning of the lyrics. Below are the original Swedish chorus and its English
translation.
Jag känner en bott, hon heter Anna, Anna heter hon
Och hon kan banna, banna dig så hårt
Hon röjer upp I våran kanal
Jag vill berätta för dig, att jag känner en bott
I know a bot, her name is Anna, Anna is her name
And she can ban, ban you so hard
She cleans up the channel
I want to tell you that I know a bot.
(Transcript and translation by author, with help of Niels Cuelenaere)
There are several differences between written electronic communication and face-to-face talk.
As David Crystal says: ―Messages sent via a computer are complete and unidirectional. When
we send a message to someone, we type it keystroke at a time, but it does not arrive on that
person‘s screen a keystroke at a time […] The message does not leave our computer until we
‗send‘ it, and that means the whole message is transmitted at once, and arrives on the
recipient‘s screen at once.‖ (Crystal: 2006, 32-33) This time delay has got two consequences.
First of all, the author of a message has to wait for response and gets no immediate feedback.
Secondly, several other people contributing to the conversation, can post messages while you
are still typing your reply. This could mean that the subject of your post has already been
dealt with, or that questions have already been answered. Therefore new ways of reducing the
amount of letters and enhancing typing speed, are welcomed. This is called ―linguistic
economy‖. In order to get as much typed down in as little of time as possible, parts of words
can be omitted. In the majority of cases vowels are being left out, whereas excluding
consonants is more rare. Some examples are ―srsly‖ or ―rly,‖ which are abbreviations for
―seriously‖ and ―really‖.
A second kind of abbreviation are acronyms and initialisms. Acronyms and initialisms are
abbreviated forms, consisting of the initial letters of a phrase or expression. The difference
between them consists in the fact that acronyms are pronounced as proper words. Initialisms
are always spoken as individual letters. We can distinguish between two trends in the use of
12
these abbreviations. Firstly, they are used for naming electronic novelties (―HTTP‖ for
―Hypertext Transfer Protocol‖ or ―URL‖ for ―Uniform Resource Locator‖). Secondly, they
are used to replace common expressions. A lot has already been written about acronyms such
as ―lol‖ (laughing out loud), ―roflol‖ (rolling on the floor, laughing out loud) and ―lmao‖
(laughing my ass off). Some popular abbreviations can be found in the examples below. The
explanations can be found in table 3.1. It should be noted that the abbreviations can be used in
upper-case or lower-case form, without any change in significance.
11. ―omg. that's the greatest thing i've seen all day.‖
Anonymous - 12/22/07 – 4chan
12. ―QFT. I once saw one swoop in and grab a pickle out of a burger that someone was
literally taking a bite of from the other end.‖
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
13. ―Not well enough, I still use uTorrent every once in a while.
brb uninstalling‖
Anonymous - 02/19/08 – 4chan
14. ―Kaneko's style is far from typical anime IMO. And don't all the main characters dress
in normal, contemporary attire?‖
Anonymous - 02/22/08 – 4chan
15. ―lmao man if that isnt awesome i dont know what is i havent seen that in sooo many
years!‖
Anonymous - 02/29/08 – 4chan
16. ―When the person who made that video can't even spell "abortion" correctly, I
wouldn't be too trusting of that information, tbh.‖
Start Something - 07/23/08 – Geekstinkbreath
17. ―wtf is he trying to convey? Lol‖
Anonymous - 03/18/08 – 4chan
brb
Be Right Back
imo / imho
In My (Humble) Opinion
lmao
Laughing My Ass Off
lol
Laughing Out Loud
omg
Oh My God
qft
Quoted For Truth
tbh
To Be Honest
wtf
What The Fuck
Table 3.1: Frequently used acronyms and initialisms
13
3.2.3 Graphic features
The new technology has provided us with a range of tools to decorate our text. Bold, italic or
underlined letters are at our display. We can also adjust the font and font colour of our text.
Some of the most common fonts are Times New Roman and Arial. Each message board has a
standard font, but most of them allow their users to apply another font. The author of extract
18 makes use of bold and italic letters. He is also fiddling with different colours. Extract 19 is
written in the font Verdana and is painted blue. The last extract makes use of a variety of
colours (so-called ―rainbow text‖) and is written in the font Arial. The extracts were taken
from the Filologica Forum and Geekstingbreath, both of which are based on PHP
17
. The
boards of 4chan do not offer font or colour tools, which illustrates the influence of software
on Netspeak.
18. "There are only two NUTS mentioned in the Holy Bible: almonds and
pistachios."
Emté – 06/22/08 – Filologica Forum
19. honestly is ANYONE going to post here?!
Skittles. - 08/11/07 – Geekstinkbreath
20. ―oh and rainbow text. this fad didnt last very long but i still love it, as you might of noticed xD‖
Harry Potter! – 03/27/07 - Geekstinkbreath
3.2.4 Orthographic features
In typography, a capital letter is formed by holding down the shift key (marked with the word
―shift‖ or an arrow pointing upwards, or both) while tapping the key with the lower-case form
of that letter. Another way of capitalizing letters is using the ―caps lock‖ key. The difference
between this key and the shift key, is that you don‘t have to keep holding it down. You simply
tap it once to turn to upper-case mode and again to return to lower-case mode. The ―caps
lock‖ key is preferred when a sequence of capital letters has to be typed. When only one letter
needs to be capitalized, people turn to the shift key. The use of these keys can be regarded as a
hazard while typing, which could explain the tendency to write everything in lower-case
letters. Personal pronoun ―I‖ is often not capitalized, nor is the initial letter of a phrase. While
the graphic features of Cyberspeak depended on software, here we are dealing with hardware
17 Scripting language
14
influence. Ignoring capitalization rules equals saving time. Punctuation is often left out for the
same reason, for example the apostrophe and period are omitted in the first example below.
21. ―rap isnt music, its crap‖
Anonymous - 01/06/08 – 4chan
22. ―i wish i knew what that was, but you managed to find the smallest picture on the
interwebs.
18‖
Anonymous - 02/22/08 – 4chan
Capitalization is used to put emphasis on words. In the first extract below, ―delicious‖ is
being emphasized, stressing the fact that the flavours are very good. Symbols strategically
placed in front of and after a word also add emphasis to that word. In the examples below
―veal‖ and ―not‖ are emphasized by means of respectively asterisks and hyphens. Repeated
letters or punctuation marks and extra spacing between letters inflict emphasis as well. An
example can be fount in extract 15: ―[…] sooo many years‖. The repetition of ―o‖ emphasizes
the longitude of time. Entire sentences written in upper-case form (or in ―caps lock‖) are
perceived as ―shouting.‖
23. ―Just look! Look at all these DELICIOUS flavors. They even have *veal.*‖
Anonymous - 01/10/08 – 4chan
24. ―soup is not a traditional breakfast meal because real soup generally takes a long time
to cook. The first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is generally -not-
spend hours making soup :/‖
Anonymous - 01/10/08 – 4chan
Asterisks can also serve a second purpose: they can mark actions or facial expressions. (See
3.2.6.3)
3.2.5 Grammatical features
Lexical and orthographical innovations are more common than grammatical deviation. ―When
it does occur it tends to be restricted to a particular situation or group of users.‖ Crystal
illustrates this statement with the phenomenon of verb reduplication: ―A verb (from a fairly
small set) is used twice in immediate succession to express a range of functions, such as an
expression of pleasure of pain, as a sarcastic or exasperated reaction, or simply as a turn-
taking marker, showing an utterance is ended.‖ (Crystal: 2006, 97) As this phenomenon is not
18 Slang for ―the Internet‖
15
universally encountered, it should not be frowned upon that it is nowhere to be found in this
corpus. A striking trend on some message boards, (the Filologica Forum is one of them) is to
flip around word order, especially by putting the object in initial position and repeating it at
the end of the phrase by adding ―it‖ or ―them‖.
25. ―My throne, you has taken it!‖
Jeroentje C – 05/16/08 – Filologica Forum
26. ―Big ego, I no has it. ‖
Tsjilp – 03/28/08 – Filologica Forum
This trend is influenced by the character Yoda from the ―Star Wars‖ films, who is known for
similar strange sentence constructions, such as ―Strong I am with the force.‖ His words are
associated with great wisdom. The verbs in extract 25 and 26 are not conjugated properly: the
accordance between subject and verb is ignored. The incorrect conjugating of verbs is a
characteristic of Lolspeak (See 4.5.4)
3.2.6 Paralanguage
3.2.6.1 Smileys/emoticons
In online communication there is a lack of body language and intonation. One way of
avoiding misunderstandings, is the use of smileys. Smileys consist of keyboard characters and
are designed to imitate facial expressions. Western smileys should be read sideways. The
colon usually represents the eyes. Sometimes the equal sign replaces the colon, a phenomenon
becoming more and more popular. A reason for this could be that on most message boards the
combinations of the basic smileys are a code for small icons or images. In the table below
there is a survey of which codes trigger an image on the Filologica Forum. When you replace
the colon with the equal sign, the board will not recognize the code and no image will be
displayed. Some people prefer the image, while others favour the symbols. It has to do with
personal taste. The equal sign can be combined with square brackets, turning the basic
smileys into ―=]‖ for a happy face and ―=[‖ for a sad face. The use of a hyphen for a nose or
omitting the nose altogether also depends on personal taste. Another determining factor in this
is of course typing speed. Other popular emoticons are the heart-shaped ―<3‖ and the broken
heart ―</3‖.
16
:D
Smiling broadly
:)
Smiling or feeling happy
:(
Feeling sad
:o
In shock
:?
Doubtful
8)
Being cool, wearing sunglasses
:x
Angry
:P
Sticking out your tongue
;)
Wink
:|
Apathetic
Table 3: Codes for smiley images on the Filologica Forum (http://forum.filologica.be)
retrieved on 07/17/08
Japanese smileys or ―kaomoji‖ are popping up more regularly on message boards. The major
difference between these smileys and Western smileys is that they are read straight-up.
Yukiko Nishimura adds: ―Emoticons rendered in Roman typographic characters consist of
colons, parentheses, and other characters. Because symbols available in Japanese are more
varied, including nonlinguistic symbols, there appears to be more variety in Japanese ―face
marks‖.‖ (Nishimura, 172) The prototype of Japanese smileys is ―(^_^)‖. The parentheses
represent the outline of the face, the neighbouring characters on the inside stand for the eyes,
while the symbol in the middle corresponds to the mouth. The outline of the face is usually
left out. While the mouth is an indispensable element in Western smileys, it can be omitted in
Japanese smileys. Consequently a kaomoji can consist solely of a representation of the eyes.
Two different Japanese smileys can be found in extract 27. The first one, consisting of carets,
is a happy face, while the second one, consisting of angle brackets, represents an ―annoyed,
angry or dissatisfied face‖. (Lee, 203). The smiley in extract 28 is used to express confusion.
27. ―I agree with both of you ^^
On GSB
19
, I can be who I want to be and I can do that without feeling >< about it
because people generally accept everyone on here. I can write the truth in my profile
and I can talk to people easily unlike in my real life.
GSB = one great place for me tbh
20.‖
Sarah – 03/21/08 – Geekstinkbreath
28. ―@_@ this thread has confused me?!?
so, who is she??‖
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
19 Geekstinkbreath
20 To Be Honest
17
Smileys or emoticons have a tendency to soften a message. However, their effect can also be
the other way around: ―Without care, moreover, they can lead to their own misunderstanding:
adding a smile to an utterance which is plainly angry can increase rather than decrease the
force of the ―flame‖. It is a common experience that a smile can go down the wrong way:
―And you can wipe that smile off your face, as well!‖ Those who get into the habit of
routinely using smileys can also find themselves in the position of having their unmarked
utterances misinterpreted precisely because they have no smiley attached to them.‖ (Crystal:
2006, 39) Ambiguity has always been a part of written language, and yet smileys have never
been introduced into our language use before. ―In traditional writing, there is time to develop
phrasing which makes personal attitudes clear; that is why the formal conventions of letter-
writing developed. And when they are missing, something needs to replace them.‖(Crystal:
2006, 41) Messages on the net lack this form of courtesy because the time span in which they
have to be composed is considerably smaller.
3.2.6.2 Imitating sounds
Attempts at imitating non-linguistic sounds in computer-mediated communication can be
found in any language. Laughter is represented by onomatopoeic words like ―hahaha‖ in
English or ―jajaja‖ in Spanish. ―Kekeke,‖ the Korean substitute for laughter, is usually
associated with Leetspeak. In fact Koreans represent laughter with a character from their own
alphabet, which resembles the sound /k/. When software does not allow them to use the
original character, Koreans use the Roman equivalent ―k‖. Other speech sounds include for
example ―hmmmm‖ (expressing doubt) or ―grrr‖ (expressing anger).
3.2.6.3 Imitating actions
As mentioned before, asterisks can be used to express action. In comics asterisks are applied
for this function as well. Authors of comics try to imitate speech on paper. In the same way
people are performing speech acts in computer-mediated communication. The author of the
following message pretends that he is weeping quietly, while the author of extract 30 is
rocking back and forth.
18
29. ―SWEET EMPEROR, NO!
*quiet weeping*‖
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
30. ―Ah yeah, I heard about Letterman...and Conan O'Brien's coming back too, isn't he? I
heard that somewhere, that he was going to come back but purposely not be funny. Or
something.
*continues rocking back and forth in corner*‖
Janie Jones – 12/19/07 – Geekstinkbreath
4. Leetspeak
4.1 The origins of Leetspeak
Very little has been published on the subject of Leetspeak. The World Wide Web is where
one would expect to find details on the Internet slang, its characteristics and its origins. When
browsing the Web for information on Leetspeak, one of the most common explanations you
will find is: ―Leetspeak is the language of hackers.‖ This is a rather general statement. Who
are these so-called hackers? In February of the year 2000 Jonas Löwgren, professor of
interactive design at the Malmö University in Sweden, gave a lecture on ―Hacker cultures‖.
He underlines the fact that he uses the plural ―cultures,‖ denoting that there are several hacker
subcultures. In traditional hacking, a distinction should be made between hobby hackers,
academic hackers and network hackers. The members of the first group were originally radio
amateurs, who already showed an interest in electronics in the 1920s. The first home
computers were sold in the form of construction kits. Computer owners were therefore
expected to have some technological knowledge, whereas nowadays people rely on experts to
install their computers. The first academic hackers are linked to the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). ―MIT ran a project in the early 60s intended to develop a timesharing
computer. This project became the core of the AI lab, where the first academic hacker culture
emerged. Students specialized in mathematics and artificial intelligence spent 30 hours
straight in programming sessions instead of going to regular classes. Ideas of free information
developed. Several students learned to pick locks in order to better use the equipment in the
building.‖ (Löwgren, online) The networking hackers were initially limited to the hacking of
telephone networks. Using control demands from phone companies, they made free phone
calls. As soon as computer networks emerged, network hacking was broadened.
19
Hacker cultures from the present arose from these three groups. Academic hackers encourage
the use of the verb ―cracking‖ to denote malicious hacking. ―Some hacker cultures view
intrusion as a means for learning more about computers and networks. If data are altered, it is
typically done as a practical joke. Basically, the hackers view the intrusions as harmless, in
spite of corporate security policies and perhaps legislation, as long as the consequences of the
intrusions can be undone (by someone with adequate system knowledge, of course). Another
common hacker argument for exposing security flaws by intrusion is to help build safer
systems in the future.‖ (Löwgren, online) Unlike academic hackers, they work anonymously,
though they do often mark their work with a graffiti-style tag image. Leetspeak should be
seen in the light of these hackers. They used the symbolic language to encrypt certain
messages and secretly share illegal software and pornographic material. The use of Leetspeak
also allowed them to escape filters. They could use words which otherwise would be banned.
For example they would write ―p0rn‖ with a zero instead of ―porn‖. Eventually this even
turned into ―pr0n‖. ―Warez,‖ as a plural form of ―ware‖, referred to pirated software or
illegally copied software. One hacker group associated with the origins of Leetspeak is ―Cult
of the Dead Cow‖ (cDc). In this stage, Leetspeak was nothing more than an alphabet.
Leetspeak then further developed in online multiplayer games, IRC channels and on bulletin
boards. Gamers used the slang to send secret game messages to each other. Only a small
group of insiders understood what was being said, creating a strong gap between the elite (or
the ―leet‖) and the newcomers (or the ―newbies‖). The latter were thus excluded from
communication. At this point Leetspeak became more than just an alphabet, as new lexicon
was created. This new vocabulary is of course related to the world of gaming. Some
grammatical changes can be noticed as well.
The use of Leetspeak on message boards and IRC channels, caused the slang to spread to a
larger group of people. As the original purpose of the slang was to hide messages, Leetspeak
is often with good reason considered to be incomprehensible by outsiders. Because of the
increasing popularity of the slang, this group of outsiders is becoming smaller and smaller.
Ironically, this could become the slang‘s death. Some original leetspeakers do not like the
spreading of the slang, which was supposed to be part of their private subculture. Other
leetspeakers, however, continue to play with language and keep on pushing the limits of
legibility. The term ―Leet‖ can either refer to the language or the subculture. The increasing
popularity of Leetspeak also caused some resentment among Internet users.
20
According to some, Leetspeak has exceeded its expiration date. The slang was supposedly
―cool‖ ten to fifteen years ago. People using the Leet alphabet can be looked down upon and
are sometimes called ―leetards,‖ which is a pun on the word ―retards‖. When the question
―Why do you use Leetspeak?‖ was raised on the forum of World of War21
in May 2006,
immediately a distinction was established between the use of hardcore Leetspeak and the
occasional mentioning of Leet-inspired words (like ―pwn‖ or ―j00‖). It seems the latter is
tolerated by the majority, while the former is perceived as annoying. Some claim the use of
hardcore Leetpseak ―dumbs people down‖ and it should therefore not be used in seriousness.
One user
22 shares his personal experience with Leetspeak: ―My friends and I use leetspeak as
internet slang, and it mostly started as a tongue-in-cheek way of making fun of people who
used it. Sadly we now all use it in limited fashion, mostly because it makes things sound
funny.‖ Kristof Van de Velde and Jeroen Meuleman reached similar conclusions in their
research paper on lexical tensions in ―Internet English‖: Leetspeak was primarily used in an
ironic way on the message boards they had chosen to investigate. People nowadays use
Leetspeak to show that they are part of the subculture or presicely to mock the existence
thereof. Leetspeak is no longer solely the language of hackers, or even gamers. It has become
the language of ―residents‖ of the internet.
One of the advantages of the Leetspeak code is the fact that it can be used to create more
secure passwords. Many online services (for example free mail services) have a filter which
shows you how secure your password is. Words which can be found in dictionaries score
quite low on the security scale, because they are easier to crack. It is advisable to use a
combination of letters and numbers (or other symbols, if the system allows this) as a
password. Words written in the Leetspeak alphabet provide you with this combination of
letters and other characters, but at the same time remain easy to remember.
The increasing popularity of Leetspeak has caused some concerns in parental organizations.
Parents are being warned: ―Do you know what your children are saying? They could be
talking about drugs.‖ Several parental guides were published online, including one on the site
of Microsoft. The Microsoft guide to Leetspeak was presumably published in 2005, as the
21 http://www.worldofwar.net/ The complete discussion referred to can be found here:
http://www.worldofwar.net/forums/showthread.php?t=368641 It was still available when last checked on
07/18/08
22 The user‘s nickname is djIgneo. Unfortunately no further information on this person is avaibable
21
discussions on the guide were held on message boards
23
in that year. The reason the guide
was so busily discussed, were the misconceptions and amateurish definitions. The guide
included a list with ―Leet words possibly indicating illegal activity.‖ Leetspeakers took
pleasure in the fact that ―Pwn‖ and ―pwn3d‖ (cfr 4.3.2.2) were listed under this section.
Meanwhile, the Microsoft‘s parents guide to Leetspeak has been replaced with an article on
netiquette (online etiquette)
24
.
The influence Leetspeak has had on language on the internet should not be underestimated.
The negative attitude towards Leetspeak have not stopped some from (and perhaps even
encouraged them to continue) using the slang in online communication.
4.2 Leetspeak as a slang
Tough Karl Sornig carefully states that it is impossible to ―give an ultimate and exhaustive
definition of slang‖ (Sornig, 1), the Oxford English Dictionary provides us with a couple of
attempts at defining the term:
Slang, n.
3
1. a. The special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character;
language of a low and vulgar type. (Now merged in c.) b. The special vocabulary or
phraseology of a particular calling or profession; the cant or jargon of a certain class or
period. c. Language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard
educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in
some special sense.
Originally, the ―set of persons‖ using Leetspeak consisted of hackers and gamers, also
referred to as ―geeks‖. Anyone who is not familiar with slang terms, is unable to unriddle
their meaning. Moreover, ―any person who has not used it or has not heard it being used
remains a stranger to its real communicative, i.e. sociosemantic/pragmatic force and value.‖
(Sornig, 1) Sornig indicates fear, secretiveness and playfulness as factors which stimulate
innovative language use, which we can recognize in the genesis of Leetspeak.
What is peculiar about this slang, is the fact that it originated in a written medium, instead of
an oral one. It does not fit into the traditional language description, because before the rise of
the Internet, language variation arose only out of spoken communication. Written
23 One of those message boards is Hardforum. The discussion on the Microsoft guide can be found at
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=869447 and was still available last time visited on 25/07/08
22
communication has been around for a long time, and yet this is the first occasion in which a
slang develops out of it. What is so special about online communication that it can give birth
to slang? In fact, classifying online communication as ―written communication‖ and therefore
limiting it to the characteristics associated with the written medium, is not entirely correct.
Any language used on the internet can be placed under the umbrella term ―speech,‖ because
the online communication resembles speech acts in great amount. For example, the element of
turn-taking is present in both computer-mediated conversation and face-to-face talk.
Some words and phrases are already being transmitted to oral language situations, such as
―owned‖ and ―noob‖. However, the slang can never fully be transmitted to oral language,
because one of its main characteristics is the alternation of spelling. In any non-written
situation, this feature is completely lost. Another problem in the transition from written to oral
language use, is the correct pronunciation of some of the words. In Leetspeak ―owned‖ can
be written as ―powned‖ or ―pwned‖. The question remains whether the ―p‖ in the second
word should be pronounced or not. Though some people prefer to pronounce the ―p,‖ others
consider the pronunciation of the ―p‖ to be an error made by wannabes. The pronunciation of
the third version of the word becomes even more problematic.
Slang terms come into existence through innovation. A novelty has to be taken up and
repeated. Though people use slang terms in their daily lives, they are not deemed worthy to
appear in official dictionaries. Some slang terms can find their way into standard language.
The first step in this process is popularization. The popularity of the term ―w00t‖ might turn it
into the first Leetspeak term to become accepted in ―ordinary‖ dictionaries. (See 5.2.9)
Many of the original Leetspeakers are not happy with the increased popularity of Leetspeak.
The language was considered to be preserved for the ―l33t‖ or ―elite‖ only. It was used for a
small group to communicate, while the others (the so-called ―n00bs‖) were unable to
understand what was being said. Many have turned against the slang, and consider the
excessive use of Leetspeak on message boards as wannabe-behaviour. While the slang used to
be perceived as the language of geeks, haters now often associate it with teenagers who think
it is still ―cool‖ to talk that way. In fact, this assumption is based on a misconception:
Leetspeak is often confused with AOL speak. The latter is used by teenagers on chatsites.
(See 4.4)
23
4.3 The characteristics of Leetspeak
English is the dominant language on the internet. This means that when two people are
communicating online, they are most likely to use the English language. Out of an estimated
1,407,724,320 world Internet users, 417,000,000 users use English. Figure 4.1 shows us the
ten most popular Internet languages, presented by Internet World Stats
25
. It is not difficult to
imagine that a slang originated on the world wide web, is based on English.
Top Ten Languaged Used in the Web
427
223
122
94
67
64
60
58
35
34
213
0
100
200
300
400
500
English
Chinese
Spanish
Japanese
French
German
Arabic
Portuguese
Korean
Italian
Rest of Languages
Millions of Users
Figure 4.1: TopTen Languages Used in the Web – May 2008,
Leetspeak can be seen as a transformed or deformed version of English. It seems to corrupt
the commonly accepted spelling and grammar rules, as its original purpose was to be used as
an encrypting code. In addition to this, it adds new words to the English vocabulary. In the
following chapters I will deal with the linguistic features, which characterize Leetspeak. I will
loosely base this dissertation on Wikipedia
26
, the online encyclopaedia. Wikipedia can be
edited by anyone, and it is therefore advisable to handle its content carefully and critically.
Unfortunately many people take what they read on Wikipedia as truth. Especially in the case
of topics which aren‘t largely discussed in other sources, like Leetspeak, this could cause
large-scale misconceptions. I will discuss some misconceptions about Leetspeak later on.
24
4.3.1 Spelling
One of the main characteristics of Leetspeak, is the replacement of letters with other
characters. Instead of limiting yourself to the 26 letters of the Roman alphabet used in the
English language, you can use any character in the repertoire of the UCS (Universal Character
Set). Basically that means you can use any character which can be formed with a standard
azerty or qwerty keyboard. Though there are no real restrictions on replacing a certain letter
with another character or other characters, there is one rule that needs to be respected. The
original letter and replacing character(s) need to have a relation of similarity. This similarity
can be based on either typography or pronunciation.
4.3.1.1 The new alphabet
Homoglyphs are characters in typography which resemble one another. Because of their
similarity in shape, it is hard to tell them apart. Multi-letter homoglyphs contain several
characters, for example ―vv‖ looks like ―w‖. The Leet alphabet makes use of homoglyphs,
and multi-letter homoglyphs. The most common homoglyphs in Leetspeak are the numbers.
The table below shows which numbers can be used to represent which letters. The number
―0‖ resembles the letter ―o,‖ the number ―3‖ can be seen as a reversed ―E,‖ while the number
―4‖ bears similarities to the capital ―A‖. Though the similarity in shape is based on either the
majuscule or the minuscule, the numbers can represent both in the Leet alphabet. Notice how
some numbers can represent diverse letters. This is what makes Leetspeak ambiguous and
difficult. A combination of numbers can be used as well: ―13‖ for ―B‖ or ―12‖ for ―R‖. This
adds even more to the complexity of Leetspeak. Sometimes it is hard to determine where one
letter stops, and another one begins. The number ―13‖ for example can be seen as the letter
―b‖ or as a combination of two letters, namely ―ie‖ or even ―le‖.
0
o
1
i l
2
R z
3
E M
4
A
5
s
6
B G
7
L T
8
B
9
g P Q
25
Table 4.1: Typographical similarities between letters and numbers
Other typographic characters can be used to replace letters as well. For example, the at sign
―@‖ can replace the letter ―a,‖ while the number sign ―#‖ is similar to the capital ―H‖. Again,
these characters can represent either a capital letter or a lower-case letter. Letters can be
replaced by other letters as well, based on similar pronunciation. ―Ph‖ can for example be
replaced with ―f‖. Based on the previous explanation, the word ―fat‖ can be written as ―phat‖.
If we take it one step further, we can also spell it out as ―p#@7‖.
On Wikipedia the table below can be found, which shows us some of the characters the letters
can be replaced with. This table is far from complete, as new combinations can be found at
any time, turning Leetspeak into an ever-changing slang. Especially because creativity is
highly rewarded among Leetspeakers. The table does, however, provide a good overview of
some of the most frequently used characters and gives us an approximation of the spelling
system. A rule that needs to be respected is that you need to be consistent. One and the same
letter cannot be replaced with two different symbols in one message. For example, once you
started replacing the letter ―a‖ with the number ―4,‖ you need to keep this up. Rarely you will
find ―4‖ as well as ―@‖ replacing the letter ―a‖ in one and the same message.
A
4 /\ @ /-\ ^ aye ∂
B
8 6 13 I3 |3 ß P> |: !3 (3 /3 )3 ∞
C
[ ¢ < ( { ©
D
) |o [) I> |> ? T) |) 0 ð
E
3 & € £ ë [- |=-
F
|= ƒ |# ph /=
G
6 & (_+ 9 C- gee (γ, (_-
H
# /-/ [-] ]-[ )-( (-) :-: |~| |-| ]~[ }{ }-{
I
1 ! | eye 3y3 ¡ ]
J
_| _/ ] ¿ </ (/ ʝ
K
X |< |{ ɮ
L
1 £ 1_ | |_ lJ ¬
M
|v| ]V[ //\\//\\ |\/| /\/\ (u) (V) (\/) /|\ ^^ /|/| //. .\\ /^^\ /V\ []\/[]
N
|\| ^/ //\\// /\/ [\] <\> {\} []\ // [] /V ₪ []\[]
O
0 () oh [] ¤ Ω
P
|* |o |º |^(o) |> |" 9 []D |̊ |7 þ ¶
Q
(_,) ()_ 0_ <|
R
2 |? /2 I2 |^ lz ® |2 [z 12 Я |2 ʁ
S
5 $ z § ehs es
T
7 + -|- 1 '][' †
U
(_) |_| v L|
V
\/ √
26
W
\/\/ vv '// \\' \^/ (n) \V/ \X/ \|/ \_|_/ \_:_/ (/\) Ш ɰ
X
% >< Ж }{ ecks × * )(
Y
J `/ Ψ φ λ Ч ¥
Z
2 ~/_ % >_ ʒ 7_
Table 4.2: the Leet alphabet as presented on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leetspeak, retrieved
on 03/27/08
There are different levels in Leetspeak spelling. When you replace every letter, the legibility
of your text becomes problematic. A solution is to only replace certain letters. By means of an
illustration, a couple of different translations of Shakespeare‘s opening line in one of his
famous sonnets can be found below. The first example is Shakespeare‘s original text, while
the others are written in Leetspeak. The deciphering of the second phrase is by far the most
difficult process. Deciphering the third phrase is easier, because it makes more use of
numbers. Numbers occur more often in Leetspeak and are therefore easier to recognize. In the
last example, only numbers are being used, alongside the opening parenthesis, which
represents the letter ―c‖. All the other letters have remained intact. This example is more clear
and easier to read, while the others require more puzzling. The second and the third phrase are
examples of hardcore Leet, whereas the forth phrase is considered to be soft Leet. ―Leet is
adding new vocabulary and transpositions that are harder to decipher, especially in hardcore
leet where every original letter is transposed. Soft Leet forms may only transpose one letter in
a word or phrase.‖ (Mitchell, online) Soft Leet is more common, because it contains the
element of coding and at the same time does not cause great deciphering difficulties. ―The
innovative orthography not only catches the eye, but it appears familiar enough to a reader to
allow him or her to understand the intended words, while distancing itself from ordinary or
conventional writing.‖ (LeBlanc, 32)
A. Shall I compare thee to a summer‘s day?
B. §#@££ ‡ (0µ¶@?= 7#== 70 @ §vµµ=?‘§ Ð@Ψ¿
C. 5#4|_|_ 1 (0^^|°4|23 +#33 +0 4 5v^^^^3|2‘5 )4‘/¿
D. 5h4ll 1 (0mp4123 7h33 70 4 5umme12‘s d4y?
As can be seen in the second and third example, punctuation marks can be altered as well.
The question and exclamation mark can be replaced with their inverted forms, originating
from the Spanish language.
27
4.3.1.2 Typographical errors
Typo‘s or typographical errors are mistakes which occur when someone accidentally makes a
mistake while typing. Especially while chatting, people tend to make typo‘s because they are
trying to type too fast. Typographical errors are a perfect illustration of how Internet language
is influenced by hardware (see 3.1). There are different kind of typo‘s: some are caused by
neighbouring key strikes, extra strikes, inverted strikes, missing strikes in a word or
connecting two words. Most people spend time reviewing their writings and correcting
spelling errors, because they make you look ―sloppy‖ or ―incompetent‖. Leetspeakers,
however, seem to have turned it into a sport to deliberately put typo‘s in their writing.
Sometimes a letter gets mixed up with another letter, because both letters are close to each
other on the keyboard. For example, the letter ―o‖ and the letter ―p‖ are often mixed up,
because their keys are right next to each other on an azerty keyboard. Another example of a
typo is when two succeeding letters in a word are switched in place. Leetspeakers started
making these mistakes intentionally. Amazingly, these typographical errors do not cause a lot
of interpretation problems. The human brain is capable of interpreting words, regardless of
typo‘s. It has been proven by linguists that people are able to decipher a word in a matter of
milliseconds if only the first and final letters are put in the right position.
―The‖ is for example often spelled as ―teh". ―Owned‖ is misspelled as ―pwned‖ and even as
―powned‖. The past tense can be also be spelled as ―pwnt‖. Another example of typo‘s is
when someone makes an incorrect use of the shift key. On a qwerty keyboard, the number one
and the exclamation sign are on the same key, while on an azerty keyboard, the exclamation
sign is combined with ―8‖ on one key. When the shift key is used incorrectly, the exclamation
sign can accidentally be mixed up with one of these numbers. This explains why both of the
following expressions can be found.
E. This is so exciting!!!1!!!!11
F. This is so exciting88888
Leetspeakers can even take it a step further and spell out the number, or even ―exclamation
mark‖ for comic effect.
G. This is so exciting!!!one!!exclamationmark!eleven
28
The question mark has gone through the same process. On qwerty keyboards this punctuation
mark is situated on the same key as the slash.
H. What are you talking about????//?slash??questionmark
Another example of intentional typo‘s can be found in the behaviour of so-called
typosquatters. They register internet domains which look like existing ones, hoping internet
users will accidentally surf to their sites. For example, someone could register
http://newyorktmies.com/. Every time an internet user makes that typo while trying to visit
the site of the New York Times, they would end up on the typosquatter‘s site. Typosquatting
is a variant of cybersquatting (purchasing domain names with the intent to resell it for a
higher price).
4.3.1.3 Abbreviations, acronyms, initialisms
Leetspeakers use abbreviated forms excessively, which causes outsiders to become even more
puzzled if they are not familiar with the conventional abbreviations. For Leetspeakers these
abbreviations serve more than just a time-saving purpose. It makes their language more
obscure and incomprehensible, especially when making a sequence of acronyms without
spacing left between them. It should be noted that the use of abbreviations is not an exclusive
Leetspeak characteristic. Users all over the Internet abbreviate their words in online
communication.
4.3.2 Lexicon
4.3.2.1 L33t versus n00b
In the world of gamers, there is a strong division between l33t and n00b. When someone is
good at gaming, they will be called ―l33t‖. This word is derived from ―elite‖ and is preserved
for a limited group of players. It can also be used to describe a successful action, as is shown
in the first example below. The use of the definite article in the second example enhances the
intensity and is an equivalent for ―very‖. Bad gamers, on the other hand are called ―n00bs‖.
The prototypical image of a n00b is a someone who is new and makes a lot of beginners‘
29
mistakes. ―N00b‖ is another way of spelling ―newb‖, which is derived from the word
―newbie‖. People who do not understand Leetspeak are also called n00bs. Leetspeak owes its
name to the adjective ―elite‖, which immediately shows that the slang is considered to be
preserved for an exclusive group.
I. That move was l33t.
J. You are teh l33t.
K. You are such a n00b.
While ―hacker‖ has a bad connotation in the language use of non-technical communities, it is
used as a compliment in Leetspeak-circles. This semantic change is called amelioration: ―A
lexeme develops a positive sense of approval.‖ (Crystal: 2003, 138) In this positive use, the
term connotes someone with a lot of computer knowledge, rather than a criminal intruder.
Jonas Löwgren also noticed the positive connotation, though he warns that the term should be
used carefully. ―It is better to be described as a hacker by others than to describe oneself that
way. Hackers consider themselves something of an elite (a meritocracy based on ability),
though one to which new members are gladly welcome. There is thus a certain ego
satisfaction to be had in identifying yourself as a hacker (but if you claim to be one and are
not, you'll quickly be labelled bogus).‖ (Löwgren, online) The Oxford English Dictionary lists
both connotations. The earliest record included in this dictionary, in which ―hacker‖ is used in
a positive way, dates from 1976: ―The compulsive programmer, or hacker as he calls himself,
is usually a superb technician.‖ It is a fragment from ―Computer Power & Human Reason‖
from J. Weizenbaum.
Hacker, n.
1. One who hacks; one who hoes with a hack.
2. That which hacks; an implement for hacking, chopping wood, or breaking up earth;
a chopper, cleaver; a hoe, mattock.
3. a. A person with an enthusiasm for programming or using computers as an end in
itself. colloq. (orig. U.S.). b. A person who uses his skill with computers to try to gain
unauthorized access to computer files or networks. colloq.
4.3.2.2 Own and w00t
30
When we look up the verb ―own‖ in the Oxford English Dictionary, we find a large series of
definitions:
Own, v.
1. trans. a. To have or hold as one's own; to have belonging to one, be the proprietor
of, possess. b. fig. and in extended use. To have control over or direction of (a person
or thing). c. To have as one's function or responsibility. Obs. d. orig. U.S. To be or feel
responsible for considering or solving (a problem, issue, task, etc.).
2. trans. To make (a thing) one's own; to gain possession or control of; to appropriate,
seize, win; to adopt as one's own. Obs
3. trans. a. To claim as being one's own; to lay claim to. In early use (Anglo-Saxon
Law): to declare (a thing) one's own property. Now rare (Sc. and Eng. regional
(north.) in later use). b. To call (a person or thing) one's own; to acknowledge as
belonging to oneself, esp. in respect of kinship or authorship. c. To acknowledge as an
acquaintance; to recognize as familiar. Now Irish English, Sc., and Eng. regional
(north.). d. To attribute (a thing) to some source. Obs. rare.
4. trans. a. To acknowledge as due; = OWE v. 3a. With unto or indirect object. Obs. b.
To acknowledge as due to oneself; to accept as deserved or merited. Obs. rare.
c. To acknowledge as having supremacy, authority, or power over oneself; to
recognize or profess obedience to (a greater power, a superior, etc.). In later use only
with abstract objects, esp. in to own (a person's) sway. Now somewhat arch.
5. a. trans. To acknowledge (a person or thing) as affecting oneself; (more generally)
to acknowledge (a thing) to be as claimed, or to be a fact; to confess to be valid, true,
or actual; to admit. (a) With simple object. (b). With object and complement. In later
use chiefly refl. (c) With clause as object (in 18th cent. also with to-infinitive).b. intr.
To confess or admit to something; = to own up at sense 5c. Now somewhat literary. c.
intr. orig. U.S. colloq. to own up: to make a full admission or confession, esp. when
challenged or pressed; to confess frankly (to something). Also with that and clause.
6. trans. Esp. of God: to acknowledge as approved or accepted; to declare or indicate
acceptance or approval of; to countenance, vindicate. Now rare.
7. trans. Hunting. Of a hound: to show recognition of (the scent of the quarry).
The way in which Leetspeakers use the verb cannot be associated with any of these
definitions. They add a new definition to the verb. When a team is defeated at the end of a
game, that team has been ―owned‖. Consequently, when you defeat another player, you have
―owned‖ that player. In this usage, the verb involves the sense of humiliation. In other words,
―to own someone‖ means to defeat that person in a humiliating way. W00t, or woot is used as
an interjection and is said to be an acronym for ―We Own the Other Team,‖ though this is
doubted by some (see 5.2.9).
31
4.3.3 Grammar
4.3.3.1 Nominalisation
Verbs and adjectives are frequently nominalised without undergoing any morphological
transformation.
L. You are (the) win!
In other cases a suffix can be added, for example ―-age‖ or ―-ness‖.
M. That is pure pwnage.
N. Your leetness impresses me.
The affixes do not trigger any real semantic changes. They can be compared to familiarity
markers: ―Sometimes an abbreviation and an affix combine, producing a lexeme which is
highly informal in tone, and often used as a part of the slang of a close-knit social group.‖
(Cyrstal: 2003, 131) These familiarity markers do not alter the class of a word. In Leetspeak
the suffixes can, however, cause a change in a word‘s grammatical status. For example the
verb ―own‖ is turned into the noun ―ownage‖ by the suffix ―-age‖. Though prefixes rarely
cause a class conversion, one prefix in particular is very popular among Leetspeakers. (See
4.3.3.2) David Crystal briefly mentions the use of suffixes as part of ―the playful jargon used
by hackers.‖ He enumerates ―-ity,‖ ―-itude‖ and ―-ification‖ as popular extensions. ―For
example, the noun-forming suffix ―-ity‖ […] might be used in dubiosity (from dubious),
obviosity (from obvious) and other such ―-ous‖ instances‖. (Crystal: 2006, 89)
4.3.3.2 Comparative forms
The definitive article ―the‖ serves a special function in the first example below. It could be
replaced with ―very‖. Adding the article in front of a gradable adjective, makes it stronger.
The French article ―le‖ can be used as well. A second way of increasing this degree is by
adding prefix ―über-‖ (also written as ―uber‖ or ―ueber‖) to the adjective.
O. This game is the awesome. This game is le awesome.
32
P. This game is übercool
According to Karl Sornig foreign borrowings are common in slang usage: ―The utilization of
foreign or strange lexical material is an old practice and might at some time or other have
served the purpose of camouflage and/or secrecy.‖ (Sornig, 4)
4.3.3.2 Morpheme ―z0r‖
The suffix ―–zor‖ or ―–z0r‖ is added to a word in order to intensify its meaning. When that
word ends in ―ck,‖ the final consonant cluster is omitted and ―-xor‖ or ―–xxor‖ is added, as
can be seen in the last examples, in which the morpheme is added to respectively ―suck‖ and
―rock.‖ The morpheme can be added to all of the tenses of a verb. The first example can be
rephrased as: ―That gamer owned‖, used to compliment a gamer‘s skills. The ―-s‖ which
signals the third person singular in the second example, can be replaced with a ―-z.‖ The
expression ―to rox0r your box0r‖ illustrates that Leetspeakers have a great liking for rhyming.
Contrary to popular belief, ―box0rs‖ does not refer to ―boxers‖ or underwear. It comes from
―boxes‖ or ―boxen‖ and is slang for computers.
Q. That gamer pwnz0red
R. That suxors. That suxorz.
S. That rox0rz your box0rz
T. You is the roxx0r.
4.3.3.3 Capitalization
The rules of capitalization are ignored. Lower-case and upper-case letters are mixed
randomly. The personal pronoun ―I‖ is rarely capitalized, nor are the initial letters of the first
word of a phrase, but this is a common habit in computer-mediated communication. The used
of capitals in the example below, however, is typically Leetspeak.
U. You aRe teh UbeRhaxXxX.
33
4.3.4 <body> language
HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is a code used by webmasters to create websites.
This code is translated by a web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox),
which then displays the site correctly on the computer screen, in order to enable surfers to
read the content. One significant characteristic of HTML is the use of tags. A code always
consists of an opening and a closing tag. Otherwise the web browser will display an error
message. The tags always come in pairs: one tag indicates where a command begins, while a
second tag closes the code. The tags are surrounded by chevrons, or angle brackets. The
closing tag can be recognized by its additional stroke or slash. A letter or abbreviation is
placed between the chevrons, which triggers a certain action. The letter ―b‖, for example,
stands for bold letters. In the example below, the text between the tags will be displayed in
bold letters.
<b>Shall I compare thee to a summer‘s day?</b> Thou art more lovely and more
temperate.
When the web browser detects the first tag, it will recognize that the following text should be
displayed in bold letters. As soon as the browser reaches the second tag, it will end the
procedure and display the remaining text in a normal way. The text will therefore appear on
the computer screen as follows:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Hackers started to adapt the method of tags in their texts to indicate the beginning or
moreover the ending of something. Notice that in both the examples below, the opening tag is
dropped. In the last example, even the chevrons are left out. The chevrons can be replaced
with square brackets as well. A gamer could use these following phrases when he is sure
victory is in sight. He signals that the game is as good as over.
V. You got owned. </game>
W. You got owned. /game
34
David Crystal calls the use of tags ―hacker-influenced conversation‖ (Crystal: 2006, 96) In
order to use tags correctly, you have to know where it comes from and understand the basics
of HTML.
4.4 Misconceptions about Leetspeak
Rebus writing or ―the use of a single symbol to represent a word or syllable with a similar
sound‖ is not Leetspeak, though it is often mistaken to be a characteristic of the slang. This
phenomenon ―seems motivated as much by word play and play with writing as by a desire to
speed up typing.‖ (Nishimura, 173)
The purpose of Leetspeak is not to enhance typing speed.
If anything, encrypting messages in Leetspeak will slow the typing down. The element of
word play is certainly one that should not be neglected, but the major function of the use of
symbols instead of letters in Leetspeak, is to simply write in code. The code creates a barrier
between insiders and outsiders and manifests adhesion to the subculture of gamers. Phrases
like ―R u going 2 the party 2night?‖ never cause any problems with interpretation, because the
use of the symbols is very transparent. It is therefore far removed from what Leetspeak is all
about. Rebus writing is a characteristic of Netspeak, as well as text messaging. The foremost
reason for rebus writing is timesaving, but in the case of text messaging the economic
constraints are an extra impulse. The cost of an SMS message depends on the length of that
message. The symbols take up less space than the word or syllable they represent and are
therefore preferred.
The combination of rebus writing and phonetic spelling is called ―AOL speak‖. Phonetic
spelling is described by Jacques Anis as the ―transcription of standard pronunciation (e.g.,
English almost-standard ―nite‖ for ―night‖ or unconventional ―guyz‖ for ―guys‖) or socially
marked variants (―luv‖ for ―love,‖ ―wanna‖ for ―want to‖).‖ (Anis, 97) Though Leetspeak and
AOL speak are not similar in nature, they are often confused.
How do we know the popular abbreviations (for example acronym ―lol‖) are not a
characteristic derived from Leetspeak? They are used in e-mails, text-messaging and therefore
can be considered a general feature of technologic speech. Instead of considering acronyms as
a feature of Leetspeak, it should be acknowledged that it is a general characteristic of
language on the Internet. Their function is to enhance typing speed. While limiting the time
spent typing certainly is an important factor in the use of abbreviations by Leetspeakers, they
use it for an additional reason. It makes their writing more incomprehensible and creates a
strong division between insiders and outsiders are. An excess of abbreviations, especially
35
when no spacing is left between separate abbreviations, can be considered as an influence of
Leetspeak, but the use of ――roflol‖ or ―lmao‖ is not Leetspeak. The combination of these two,
namely ―roflmao‖ is another story. Leetspeakers tend to make sequences of acronyms and
initialisms. It is not uncommon to find ―omgwtf‖ or ―imotbh‖ without any spacing. The
absurd addition of ―bbq‖ (barbeque) in ―omgwtfbbq‖ adds a sarcastic touch and is a perfect
illustration of word play.
4.5 Leet as a subculture: Internet memes
Leet is as much a subculture as it is a slang. Memes (a term coined by Richard Dawkins in
―The Selfish Gene‖) are cultural traits. ―Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases,
clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate
themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes
propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in
the broad sense, can be called imitation.‖ (Dawkins, online) In the case of the internet, memes
can be said to leap from computer to computer. Considering that on the World Wide Web a
large amount of people can be reached in a short amount of time, Internet memes can be
spread easily. Several memetrackers can be found online, such as digg
(http://www.digg.com/) and technorati (http://www.technorati.com), keeping track of trends
on the internet.
Different types of memes can be found on message boards. Image macros (are images with
catch-phrases placed on top of them) are quite popular. They are made for humorous effect
and are often of an absurd nature. It is hard, if not impossible, to determine who started a
certain meme or who created this or that image macro. In the following chapters some
Internet memes will be discussed. These memes are part of the Leet subculture, but should not
be associated with Leetspeak as a slang.
4.5.1 All your base are belong to us
This line comes from a poorly translated English version of ―Zero Wing,‖ a 1989 Japanese
video game. It is part of the introductory cut scene
27
to the game. The poor translation is due
to the rush in which the European version had to be released in 1991. The rediscovery of
27 A cut scene is a scene in a game in which background information is given. The player has got no control over
these scenes, which break up the gameplay.
36
―Zero Wing‖ in 1999, resulted in an internet phenomenon. Gamers started quoting the broken
English phrase ―All your base are belong to us.‖ The phrase is often accompanied with a
screenshot of the scene (see figure 4.1). Originally it was used to parody a premature
proclamation of victory. Later on, it lost its original sense of premature cheering, and was
used simply to express victory. The correct English translation of the Japanese line would be:
―We have taken over all of your bases.‖ The complete text of the badly translated scene, as
can be found on Wikipedia, is as follows:
Narrator: In A.D. 2101, war was beginning.
Captain: What happen ?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What !
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It's you !!
CATS: How are you gentlemen !!
CATS: All your base are belong to us.
CATS: You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: What you say !!
CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
CATS: Ha Ha Ha Ha ....
Operator: Captain !!
Captain: Take off every 'ZIG'!!
Captain: You know what you doing.
Captain: Move 'ZIG'.
Captain: For great justice.
Figure 4.1: screenshot of the famous scene in ―Zero Wing‖,
37
The expression in the following extract is based on the poor English translation from ―Zero
Wing‖. It is an inside joke, only people who are familiar with ―All your base are belong to us‖
will understand.
31. ―All your fristi
28
are belong to us!‖
Naga – 05/28/08 – Filologica Forum
4.5.2 Roflcopter
The ―roflcopter,‖ a blend consisting of ―rofl‖ (Rolling On the Floor, Laughing) and
―helicopter,‖ indicates that something is hilariously funny. It is a pictographic piece of art,
more precisely ASCII art, made entirely out of ASCII characters. ―ASCII is an acronym for
―American Standard Code for Information Interchange‖; established in the 1960s, it contains
128 seven-bit codes (unique combinations of 1‘s and 0‘s), 94 of which are available for use as
graphical characters (excluding the space character). This character set is based on the Roman
alphabet and the sounds of the English language.‖ (Danet and Herring, 8) ―Graphical
characters‖ are characters which can be printed and are opposed to control characters. An
example of the latter is the code ―127,‖ which stands for the action ―delete.‖ Spacing is
considered to be a printed character. Smileys or emoticons are the simplest form of ASCII art.
! ― # $ % & ‗ ( ) $ + , - . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ? @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _ ‗ a b c d e f g h I j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~
Figure 4.2: Graphical ASCII characters, http://www.asciitable.com/, retrieved on 05/15/08
Characters from figure 4.2 are combined to imitate a helicopter. In the example shown below
the propellers on top of the helicopter are represented by the terms ―roflol,‖ while those at the
back are formed with the words ―lol.‖ This image has been turned into an animated gif as
well. Similar phenomena are the lollercoaster and the lollerskates.
28 A brand of drinks
38
.......................__ ............
......<ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL>.
........................| |...........
................... __\||/____......
.\\...............|'-|--| .\\....\.....
..\ \_...........|--|---|..\\ ....\....
../ L \____,/-------\___\___\
.|LOL|-------------O----- ----,\..
..\ L /______,---''-----------, /...
../ /.............\_________ ,/....
.//.............____//___ __\\__/.
Figure 4.3: Ascii Art: roflcopter
4.5.3 The orly owl
To indicate that you disagree with a statement, or that you think a certain comment is
redundant, you can answer to it with the catch-phrase ―orly‖ or ―o rly‖. This term stands for
―Oh, really?‖ and should be read in a sarcastic way. It is usually responded to with ―ya rly‖
(―yes, really‖), which is then followed by ―no wai‖ (―no way‖). The phrases are commonly
placed on images with owls. The original picture of a white owl with superscription ―o rly‖
has been copied massively on the Internet.
Figure 4.4: image macro: orly owl, http://www.orlyowl.com, retrieved on 04/10/2008
Many parodies have been made on this image. One example is the picture of Elmer Fudd, the
―Looney Tunes‖ character (notorious for his speech disorder) with the superscription ―o
wwy‖. The ―orly owls‖ have been turned into ASCII artworks as well, as can be seen in figure
4.5.
39
{o,o}
|)__)
-"-"-
O RLY?
{-.-}
|)_(|
-"-"-
YA RLY
{0,0}
(__(|
-"-"-
NO WAI!
Figure 4.5: ASCII art: the orly owls
In the extracts below ―o rly‖ and ―orly‖ are put into use. They are not Leetspeak in se, but do
belong to the Leet subculture.
32. ―o rly? Have you even looked at the specs?‖
Anonymous - 12/23/07 – 4chan
33. ―Dead people are classified as vagrants, although the law likely has no means to arrest
the dead.
orly?‖
In Utero – 03/28/08 - Geekstinkbreath
4.5.4 Lolcats
Lolcats are image macros of cats. The humorous caption on the picture reflects what the cat
supposedly is thinking, saying or doing. They are written in Lolspeak, which can be seen as a
variant of Leetspeak. While the main focus in Leetspeak is on spelling and lexicon, the latter
is more about spelling and grammar. The principle of Lolspeak can be compared to the
principle of Leetspeak: defying the accomplished and generally accepted rules. First of all,
words are misspelled. Secondly, the grammatical rules are ignored: for example verbs are
conjugated incorrectly and auxiliaries are mixed. The result is a language full of errors,
perceived as ―cute‖ and associated with baby talk. ―Part of the lolcats' appeal lies in the way it
domesticates the wild linguistic frontier of the Internet, rife with chat abbreviations, hacker
acronyms, typos and trans-hemispherical East-West garblings.‖ (Grossman, online) Some of
the most popular captions are those in the ―I‘m in ur
29
X doing ur Y‖ format. This phrase was
first used in an online game, where one gamer answered ―I am in ur base, killing ur d00dz‖
(―I am in your base, killing your dudes30‖) to the question ―Where are you?‖ Another popular
phrase is ―I can has cheezburger?‖ (―Can I Have a cheeseburger?‖) which is at the same time
the title of the website containing a large lolcats archive (http://icanhascheezburger.com/).
29 Your
30 Referring to the team-mates of the other player.
40
Figure 4.6: Lolcat, http://icanhascheezburger.com/, retrieved on 07/21/08
4.5.5 Oh noes
―Oh noes‖ is the ungrammatical plural form of the exclamation ―Oh, no!‖ It expresses
bewilderment and shock. Like many other online catchphrases, it is used in a sarcastic way.
34. ―all of them are green ohnoes‖
Anonymous - 12/20/07 – 4chan
35. OH NOES I HAVE TO LIVE ON CUP RAMEN FOR A WHILE TO KEEP MY
DOG ALIVES? WUT NO WAI! *kills dog*
Anonymous - 02/17/08 – 4chan
―Oh noes‖ is used in a sarcastic way in both of the extracts. The plural form of the expression
resembles the plural use of adverbs, which sometimes occurs in speech. The adverb ―anyway‖
can for example be pluralized into ―anyways‖. In extract 35 ―alives‖ is written in plural as
well, though the author is only referring to one dog. A second common expression can be
found at the end. ―No wai‖ or ―no way‖ is usually used in combination with ―orly‖. The
asterisks are used to indicate an action, in this case the killing of the dog.
4.5.6 Fail or win
The abundance of the terms ―win‖ and ―fail‖ illustrate a fondness of extremes. Rarely
anything is ever qualified as ―moderate‖. The verbs are used as nouns and adjectives, without
any morphological alternations. Something good is said to be ―win‖ or ―made out of win‖.
The highest form of failure is commented on with the phrase ―epic fail‖ or ―epic phail‖. When
41
you like something, you can use the expression ―for the win‖, or its shortened form ―ftw‖.
This expression might be a reference to the television game show ―Hollywood Squares,‖ in
which gamers had to earn squares in order to get ―the win‖. The contestants were said to be
―playing for the win‖. On the site of Urban Dictionary, the game show is mentioned in the
third definition (as can be seen below). The definitions on this slang dictionary are submitted
by users, and then voted on by other users.
For the win
1. Something cool or good, usually used amongst gamers. This phrase can be used for
online and real life.
2. (Phrase) Typically used to indicate how good some action is. Also used in
seemingly random intervals to indicate your lack of sleep and sanity. Used in contrast
with "for the loss."
3. In gaming parlance, a choice or strategy that should guarantee victory. The phrase
comes from the TV game show Hollywood Squares. Contestants choosing a square
which would give them 3 in a row would frequently say something like "I'll take Paul
Lynde for the win."
The opposite of this expression, ―for the lose‖ or ―for the loss‖ also circulates on the Net.
4.5.7 To rickroll someone
A very recent practical joke consists of ―rickrolling someone‖. The joke relies in intentionally
misdirecting them to a video featuring Rick Astley singing ―Never gonna give you up.‖ You
can trick others by pretending a certain Web link will take them somewhere else. When a
person clicks the link, he is said to have been ―rickrolled‖. ―Rickrolling is a descendant of an
older Internet joke called duckrolling. A Web site or blog post would offer a link to
something popular — say celebrity photos or video gaming news — that led unsuspecting
viewers to a bizarre image of a duck on wheels.‖ (Nussenbaum, online) The rickrolling joke
was widely copied by thousands and even exceeded the boundaries of the Internet. On March
8, 2008 two people, one of them dressed up as Rick Astley, rickrolled an entire audience by
playing the 80‘s hit song on their stereo at a women‘s basketball game at Eastern Washington
University. In an interview with David Sarno, the Web scout from Los Angeles Times, Rick
Astley commented on the revival of his hit: ―I think it‘s just one of those odd things where
something gets picked up and people run with it, but that‘s what's brilliant about the Internet.‖
42
4.6 Leetspeak in online games
Counter-strike is a shooting game in which a team of counter-terrorists has to battle a team of
terrorists in a couple of rounds. A player can join either groups. Each round can be won by
reaching the mission objective, for example planting a bomb (in case of the terrorists) or
rescuing the hostages (in case of the counter-terrorists). Another way of winning a round is by
killing all your opponents. The game can be played online against others. During the game,
players are able to send instant messages (a form of real-time communication). The appendix
contains some screenshots which were taken inside the game. Some of them were provided to
me by my friend Niels Cuelenaere, others were taken from gamer sites ―A-teamClan‖
Most of the screenshots were taken when the scoreboard was shown. Taking screenshots
during the action interrupts the game, as you actually have to leave the window of the game in
order to save your screenshot. It is easier to find screenshots of the scoreboard, as the players
are free to leave the main window, without having to worry about missing the action. The
scoreboards provide us with series of nicknames
In the first screenshot one of the gamers has chosen ―][34m = ][oLL 3!n3R 4LL3!n m8$‖ for
a nickname. It is linguistic joke containing a German backronym (a false acronym). When
deciphered it reads: ―Team = Toll Einer Allein Machts‖. Other nicknames containing the
Leetspeak alphabet are ―$tink$ock3‖ and ―-=|JuMb0|=-‖ The latter contains hyphens and
equal signs as ornaments. ―JuMb0‖ is written in both lower-case and upper-case letters, while
the ―o‖ is replaced with zero.
―P@Ni(‖ in appendix B consists of the same alternation between upper-case and lower-case
letters. The at sign and opening round bracket replace the letters ―a‖ and ―c‖. In ―DynamO‖
the first an last letter are capitalized.
The following appendix contains the nickname ―Ch@ll3ng3r [N33D Cl@N]‖ or ―Challenger
(need clan)‖. On appendix D the players ―ik ben een roxxor‖ (i am the roxor) and ―Karschann
is een roxor‖ (Karschann is the roxor) are listed under the counter-terrorists.
In the left corner on the bottom of appendix E, we get a glimpse of the instant messaging
between two players:
niezleh: gg
Xan: hacker
niezleh: su imo
When filling in the abbreviations, the conversation becomes more comprehensible:
43
niezleh: good game
Xan: hacker
niezleh: shut up in my opinion
What the players actually are saying, is:
niezleh: That was a good game.
Xan: You are a hacker!
niezleh: I think you need to shut up.
Player niezleh scored 57 points, which makes him the best player of the game. He comments
―good game‖ to emphasize his victory. Player Xan picks up on the mocking attitude of
niezleh and accuses the player of hacking the game. Niezleh is insulted because he is called a
cheater and tells Xan to shut up. The entire conversation is held by means of only 13 letters.
This is a clear illustration of linguistic economy, a typical phenomenon in online
communication.
On appendix F the gamers ―D3VISTAT3R‖ is enlisted (literally devistater, referring to
devastator). This nickname contains numbers to represent letters. These kind of letter
replacements are legion, and as a result the translation is obvious and many players will be
able to decipher his nickname. The second player in the counter-terrorist list uses less current
symbols, but the word ―Jesus‖ is still very recognizable. The player ―/i/i IRAGE?‖ probably
uses the slash and ―i‖ to form the letter ―m‖. His nickname then reads out ―MIRAGE?‖. This
is harder to decipher because of two reasons. Firstly, the combination of these characters is
less current. Secondly, the deciphering process is more difficult when several symbols are
used to present one letter. There is no clear connection between the original character and
replacing symbols, unlike the transparent resemblance between for example the letter ―s‖ and
the dollar sign ―$‖. His nickname is much more dubious then the previous ones, and we
cannot be certain that this interpretation is in fact the correct one.
Another dubious nickname is the third one in the terrorist list in appendix G. The nickname
ends in ―124c312,‖ which could stand for ―racer‖ if the numbers ―12,‖ ―4,‖ and ―3‖ are indeed
used for the letters ―r,‖ ―a,‖ and ―e‖. ―DaNg3rNuBz,‖ on the other hand, is a transparent
version of ―dangernubz‖ or ―dangernoobs‖.
The last screenshot contains a conversation between several players:
SiLeNt_KiLLa_ElItE: bet t all
#One
1Shot‘ MaG: OMFG
«SAS» ¦-¦USTLER: NO DMG?
Secxces @ CT Spawn (RADIO): Fire in the hole!
«SAS» ¦-¦USTLER: fuck off
44
The expression ―bet t all‖ is a way of gambling in the game. Starting with the word ―bet,‖ and
then adding ―t‖ for ―terrorists‖ or ―ct‖ for‖ counter-terrorists,‖ you indicate which team will
be the winning team according to you. The last part indicates how many survivors you think
will be left. The options are ―all,‖ ―half‖ or a number. The gamer in this extract thinks the
terrorists will win the game. ―OMFG‖ stands for ―oh my fucking god‖ and ―DMG‖ stands for
―damage‖. Again, abbreviations are characteristic of language use on the Internet. ―Fire in the
hole‖ is a warning used when something is about to explode. The nicknames in this extract
contain some interesting elements as well. For example, the palindrome ―secxces‖ should be
read as ―success‖. The initial letter of ―¦-¦USTLER‖ is ―h‖. Though the letter is replaced with
a sequence of characters, it can be recognized at a single glance.
The Leetspeak alphabet is used in the gamers‘ nicknames. It is an indication that the gamers
belong to the Leet subculture, but at the same time it serves as a means of decoration. The
gamers seem to pay a lot of attention to the appearance of their nickname. While the face is
the signboard in real life, the nickname takes over this function when there is no face-to-face
contact. It can be compared to the signatures graffiti artists leave behind on city walls. (See
figure 4.7) Originality and attracting attention come in first place, legibility is less important.
The software of the game does not provide tools to decorate the graphic appearance by means
of colour or fonts, and therefore the Leet alphabet serves as decoration. Other elements which
contribute to a unique appearance are the use of symmetrically placed symbols in front and
after the nicknames (~>$h0guN<~), the alternation in capitalization (SiLeNt_KiLLa_ElItE)
and the invented palindrome (secxces). Some words are separated by dashes or periods
(The_werewolf).
45
Figure 4.7 http://bigeyedeer.wordpress.com/, retrieved on 06/23/08
The conversations on the screenshots contain less elements of Leetspeak, but are
characterized by time-saving Netspeak features. The gamers‘ language is quite aggressive,
which is not only due to the context of the violent game. Netspeak in general is more hostile,
as the anonymity makes people less inhibited. ―There are obviously inherent risks when
talking to someone we do not know, and instances of harassment, insulting or aggressive
language, and subterfuge are legion.‖ (Crystal: 2006, 54)
5. Language on message boards
5.1 Message boards
This research focuses on the medium of message boards, which can be placed under
―asynchronous chatgroups‖ in David Crystal‘s dissertation in ―Language and the Internet‖.
Other terms to refer to message boards are ―bulletin boards,‖ ―forums,‖ or ―discussion
boards.‖ Anyone can contribute a message to such a board, be it anonymous or not. The
communication is asynchronous, but the messages are stored (temporarily), so that anyone
can flip back and look at messages which were written in the past. Most message boards are
46
public and can be accessed by anyone. Other message boards, on the other hand, require a
registration in order to post messages or even read them. Registration involves choosing a
nickname, which will be displayed every time you post a message. This does not mean your
true identity is given away. All your messages can be traced down and linked to your
nickname. Unless you decide to share your personal information, your true identity remains
hidden. Lurkers are people who read message boards, but never actually post messages
themselves.
Message boards or forums can be divided into subforums, which in their turn contain several
topics or threads. A thread is dedicated to one specific subject. When guests go ―off topic,‖
which means they drift away from the original subject of a thread, they will be asked to
remain ―on topic‖ by the forum‘s administrators or moderators. This Web team is also
responsible for deleting spam, flames and floods from their boards. In general, spam are
messages which are not constructive and do not contribute anything to the topic of a thread.
Spambots create auto-generated messages, usually containing advertising for a certain product
or website. Regular surfers, however, can also commit the Internet crime of spamming by
continually drifting off topic and posting short nonsense messages. An excess of spamming
often results in a permanent or temporary ban. Flames, on the other hand, are insulting
messages. People who are out to provoke other people and post irrelevant messages on
discussion boards are called ―flamers‖ or ―trolls‖. A third punishable phenomenon is
―flooding‖. This term refers to the deliberate excessive posting in a short amount of time,
usually to achieve a new forum rank. Most forums provide different ranks, which are related
to the total amount of a user‘s posts.
Hot topics are located at the top of the board‘s index, while older topics slowly drop to the
bottom and will eventually end up on another page. A topic can be ―bumped‖: by posting a
message in an old, forgotten topic, it will skyrocket to top of the list.
Message boards are more suitable for research than e-mail or chatsites. First of all, the
majority of e-mails are private in nature. According to Yukiko Nishimura both e-mail
messages and posts on message boards need to be divided into personal and non-personal.
Personal e-mails are stored by senders and recipients, and are not accessible without their
permission. Messages on bulletin boards, on the other hand, are publicly posted, whether they
are of a personal nature or not. Their subjects can range from personal interests to scientific
expositions. Secondly, messages on chatsites are almost immediately deleted, while posts on
message boards are stored for a longer period. A minus point for linguistic research on
language on the Internet in general, is the anonymity. People can easily assume false identities
47
on the Internet, consequentially no personal information is reliable. Therefore research on the
language users is problematic.
The data collected for this paper were gathered from three different message boards: 4chan,
the Filogica Forum and Geekstinkbreath. The data were retrieved between December 2007
and July 2008. Unfortunately the Internet is not a vast medium. In the time spent collecting
data, processing date, and writing out this master paper, most of the messages have already
disappeared from the surface of the World Wide Web. Since I am the administrator of the
Filologica Forum myself, I have some control over the survival of certain messages. In the
end, however, these messages will face the same fortune as those on other message boards.
They will have to make room for new messages. An excellent reason for performing studies
on language and message boards now, rather than later.
The messages collected here are personal and are therefore more likely to contain traces of
slang. In conversations on the subject of non-personal information, people tend to turn to
Standard English.
5.2 Linguistic trends on message boards: corpus-based research
In this chapter I will take a closer look at the corpus and distinguish between different
linguistic trends. This research should clarify and illustrate the theory dealt with in the
previous chapters. A clear distinction will be made between what has been influenced by
Leetspeak, and what should not be associated with it.
5.2.1 Leet alphabet versus rebus writing
36. ―ITZ BUNDAY EVERY1‖
Anonymous - 01/27/08 – 4chan
Bunday is a themed day on 4chan. Users are expected to post pictures of bunnies on Sunday.
These themed days are quite popular on 4chan. The most known and probably original
themed day is Caturday. On Saturdays members were encouraged to post pictures of cats.
This phenomenon lead to the birth of lolcats and its many image macros (see 4.5.4). The
message is written in capital letters, revealing the author‘s excitement. There are no
punctuation marks and the apostrophe is left out as well. The third person singular marker ―-
s‖ is replaced with a ―-z‖. All of these are general characteristics of Netspeak. The use of the
number ―1‖ in ―EVERY1‖ is not Leetspeak, though it might be wrongfully associated with it.
Only if the number is used to replace a single letter, for example the letter ―i‖ or ―l‖, are we
48
dealing with Leetspeak. Here the number replaces ―one‖ and functions as a time-saving
device. In traditional written language the message would be: ―It‘s Bunday, everyone!‖
37. ―Eye C whut u did thar‖
Anonymous - 12/24/07 – 4chan
In this extract, the author is stating: ―I see what you did there.‖ ―Eye‖ and ―I‖ are both
pronounced as /aI/. ―C‖ and ―see‖ are pronounced in the same way as well: /si:/. The letter is
written in capital, even though there is no direct reason to do so. The letter ―u‖ and personal
pronoun ―you‖ are also similar in sound: /ju:/. The letters are used to replace entire words, in
order to increase typing speed. The use of ―eye‖ instead of ―I‖ has an opposite effect. Even
though ―whut‖ and ―what‖ slightly differ in pronunciation, ―what‖ is replaced with ―whut‖.
The same happened with ―thar‖ and ―there‖. The use of ―eye‖ is Leetspeak, while all the other
words in this extract (apart from ―did,‖ which did no undergo any changes) are Lolspeak.
Lolspeak and Leetspeak are being used alongside each other, which causes confusion and
disables people to distinguish them properly.
38. ―u r rite indeed.
nobody cares though.‖
Anonymous - 02/13/08 – 4chan
―You‖ again is replaced with the letter ―u‖. In the same way ―r‖ represents ―are‖. ―Rite‖ and
―right‖ are homophones, and are also interchanged. The first line should be read as: ―You are
right, indeed.‖ No capitals are begin used, though there are punctuation marks. This extract
does not contain Leetspeak.
39. ―z0mG!!!1!!1 P41nT 5uXxXx0rz!!1‖
Echoes – 11/21/06 – Filologica forum
In contrast to the previous extract, this entire phrase is written in Leetspeak. ―Omg‖ is an
initialism, which stands for ―Oh My God.‖ The initial letter ―z‖ is added as an intentional
typo. The shift key is used incorrectly, resulting in the alternation between upper-case and
lower-case letters, for example minuscule ―m‖ and majuscule ―G‖ in ―z0mG‖. The use of the
number ―1‖ instead of the exclamation mark also points in the direction of shift lock abuse.
Some letters have been replaced with numbers as well. After deciphering the second sentence,
49
you can read ―Paint31 sucks!‖ The final consonant cluster of the verb ―to suck‖ is omitted and
the suffix –―xx0r‖ is added. The repetition of ―xx‖ increases the excitement. The third person
singular is marked by ―-z‖ instead of the conventional ―-s‖.
While hardcore Leetspeak is very hard to be found, soft Leetspeak did find its way to message
boards. One reason could be that hard Leetspeak is very difficult to decipher and can be
perceived as irritating. It also takes longer to encrypt a message in hard Leetspeak, which
could explain why soft Leetspeak is preferred. Acronyms and other shortenings also prove to
be quite popular. They enhance typing speed and can be used to keep newcomers at distance.
One has to be familiar with the conventions of the abbreviations in order to understand them.
In conclusion we can say that Leetspeakers compromise the legibility of their message. They
will use everything in their access to make their posts more puzzling to outsiders. The most
obvious way of doing so is by replacing letters by other characters. In order to make the
deciphering of their writings even more complex, they can also leave out spacing between
words.
40. ―Channel 11? More like Channel 5 amirite?‖
Anonymous - 02/13/08 – 4chan
The lack of spacing at the end of the hamper the interpretation of this short message. The
writer is simply asking ―am I right?‖. ―Right‖ is being replaced by its homophone ―rite‖ and
―I‖ is written in lower-case letters, both of which are typical features of language on the
Internet. The only element which is Leet in this extract is the intentional omitting of spacing.
5.2.2 D00ds and n00ds
41. ―FOR GREAT JUSTICE.
thx d00dz‖
Anonymous - 02/21/08 – 4chan
42. ―D00ds, ik lach niet met Morel omdat hij die film bekijkt, ik lach omdat hij enkel en
alleen dat soort films bekijkt‖
mddrfkkr – 03/05/06 – The Filologica Forum
43. ―We're talking about American Idiot movie, not the American Idiot videos..
So, stay on topic d00ds =]‖
Cecilia – 03/06/06 - Geekstinkbreath
31 The author is talking about Microsoft Paint, a graphic programme.
50
―Dood‖ or ―d00d‖ and ―dude‖ are both pronounced as /du:d/. In the first extract, the
morpheme indicating the plural is changed into a ―z‖. ―Thx‖ is an abbreviation for ―thanks‖.
The second sentence in extract 41 can therefore be rephrased as: ―Thanks, dudes.‖ The term
―d00dz‖ is influenced by Leetspeak because of the replacement of ―o‖ with zero. ―Thx‖ on
the other hand is one of the many abbreviations which circulate the Net. The use of capitals at
the beginning of the extract 41 functions as a way of putting the emphasis on the first
sentence. This is a typical feature of Netspeak. Because of the lack of intonation and body
language in online communication, people turn to capitalization, letter spacing or asterisks to
add emphasis.
44. ―Also, while your there check out the RMD article. Warning: it contains n00ds.‖
Anonymous - 07/12/08 – 4chan
In the same way ―d00ds‖ replaces ―dudes‖, ―nudes‖ is here substituted with ―n00ds‖ In the
first phase of this translation process ―nudes‖ is turned into ―noods‖ because they sound
similar. In the second step, the ―o‖ is replaced with zero. As if trying to outsmart a censoring
filter, the author writes ―n00ds‖ instead of ―nudes,‖ which is a colloquialism for ―nudity‖.
5.2.3 Phear my Leet skills
45. ―Which animals does /an/ ph34r?‖
Anonymous - 03/05/08 – 4chan
46. ―Archlord... en dan nog niet eens echt spelen, maar wel het kapitalistische zwijn
uithangen en miljoenen ingame coins verdienen. Ph34r m3!‖
Florian – 12/19/07 – Filologica forum
47. ―PHEAR US LIEVJURNAL.
PHEAR US GUD.‖
Peardrops – 05/03/08 - Geekstinkbreath
―Ph34r‖ stands for ―fear‖. While the swapping between ―ph‖ and ―f‖ is based on similarity in
pronunciation, ―3‖ and ―4‖ substitute ―e‖ and ―a‖ because of their similarity in orthography.
Though this similarity is based on the capital letters ―E‖ and ―A,‖ the numbers can be used to
replace the lower-case letters as well. In the second example ―m3‖ is another way of writing
―me‖. Both ―ph34r‖ and ―m3‖ are Leetspeak. In the first example he author uses ―/an/‖ as a
title to address the members posting in /an/, the subforum of 4chan dedicated to animals. This
is a typical phenomenon on the boards of 4chan. ―LIEVJURNAL‖ contains an intentional
51
typo: ―liev‖ instead of ―live‖. Both ―ou‖ and ―oo‖ are replaced with ―u‖, based on similar
pronunciation. Livejournal is a community where members can start a blog.
48. ―None of our goldfish ever lived beyond 3 months. Maybe we phail too much.‖
Anonymous - 02/19/08 – 4chan
―Fail‖ is a term commonly used by Leetspeakers. Here it is presented by the non-word
―phail‖. Like in the previous extracts, ―f‖ is replaced with ―ph‖ because of their common
pronunciation. It is not unusual to find ―fail‖ in combination with ―epic‖ or ―epik,‖ as shown
in the extracts below.
49. ―The quality of this image leads me to the phrase EPIC FAIL‖
Anonymous - 03/18/08 – 4chan
50. ―i just got an application to work at a shoe store tbh. epic phail‖
Chris Fafalios. – 05/30/08 – Geekstinkbreath
51. ―Troost je, het was toch een epik phail gebleven‖
ievil knievil – 07/08/08 – Filologica Forum
5.2.4 zomgbbq
52. ―It's obviously evil because it's better known by its chemical name.
Do you think everyone would panic if labels stopped using generic terms for
everything and broke it down into chemicals?
Ingrediates: carbonated dihydrogen-monoxide, hydroxypropane carboxylic acid, and
saccharose
ZOMG UNHEALTHY!‖
Anonymous - 03/18/08 – 4chan
Like in extract 39, ―omg‖ is preceded by the letter ―z‖. The last phrase is written in capitals,
and should be read as a loud exclamation. The author mocks the reaction some people might
have when reading chemical terms. The adding of ―z‖ as an extra strike is quite absurd,
considering ―o‖ and ―z‖ are not neighbouring strikes on the keyboard. What is even more
absurd, is adding ―bbq‖ in a sequence of initialisms:
53. If The Guys From Green Day Died What Would Their Last Words Be? OMG WTF
BBQ
Slappy J. – 06/17/08 – Geekstinkbreath
52
54. foto tbh wtf bbq
L‘Escargot – 07/08/08 – Filologica Forum
Adding ―bbq‖ in these messages is a linguistic joke.
5.2.5 Moar nao
55. ―Hey guys, it's Varg tiem nao!!!
I know it's not Burzday, but I'm in the mood of some Burzumz0r!!11
Post your best pics!‖
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
The first phrase can be translated as: ―Hey guys, it‘s Varg time now!!!‖ ―Tiem‖ is an
intentional typo, while ―nao‖ replaces ―now,‖ based on their phonetic resemblance. Burzum is
a musical project by Varg Vikernes. Burzday is a word play, and is a combination of Burzum
and Thursday. In other words, on Thursdays users should post pictures of Burzum. This is
another themed day on the boards of 4chan. The use of the number ―1‖ instead of the
exclamation mark in the second sentence emphasize the poster‘s excitement. Notice also the
use of suffix ―-z0r‖ in ―Burzumz0r‖. The gist of the message is that the author requests that
everyone should post pictures of Burzum or Varg Vikernes, even though it is not the right day
to do so (the message was posted on a Monday).
56. ―moar liek this‖
Anonymous - 02/12/08 – 4chan
57. ―I suggest you lurk a bit moar‖
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
58. ―Moar picshurs less talk
kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay???‖
Fred Astaire – 05/07/08 – Filologica forum
59. ―He'd be even moar badass than he is now ‖
Trusty Chords. – 04/25/08 - Geekstinkbreath
In these examples, ―more‖ is replaced with ―moar‖, based on their phonetic resemblance. The
first example also contains an intentional typo: the letters ―k‖ and ―e‖ from the word ―like‖
are swapped in place. Extract 56, 58 and 59 show a lack of punctuation marks, while the
question mark in the remaining example is repeated. The vowel ―a‖ in ―kay‖ is repeated as
well. The repetition draws attention to the phrase and indicate the author‘s impatience. Non-
53
standard spellings which reflect pronunciation, such as ―kay‖ for ―okay‖ are characteristic of
Netspeak. In the same example ―picshurs‖ should be read as ―pictures‖. In extract 57 someone
is asked to lurk more. Whereas lurkers (people who read message boards but do not contribute
any messages themselves) were viewed negatively at first, newcomers are now often advised
to ―lurk‖ before starting to post any messages. This way, they can get acquainted with the
group‘s etiquette (or netiquette) and habits. The use of the verb ―to lurk‖ in this context is part
of the Netspeak lexicon and is mentioned in a draft note in the Oxford English Dictionary
Lurk, v.
1. a. intr. To hide oneself; to lie in ambush; to remain furtively or unobserved about
one spot. (Now only with indication of place.) Also, to live in concealment or
retirement. b. To shirk work; to idle. Obs.
2. trans. and fig. Of things: To escape observation, to be concealed or latent.
3. To move about in a secret and furtive manner; to ‗steal‘ along, away, out. Now
rare.
4. To peer furtively or slyly. Obs.
5. [Perh. connected with LURCH v.2] In pa. pple.: beaten, lost (in a game of chance)
(see also quot. 1929). slang.
DRAFT ADDITIONS JULY 2001
lurk, v. intr. Computing slang. To read communications to an electronic network
without actively contributing or making one's presence known. Cf. earlier LURKER n.1
One of the differences between the Netspeak lexicon and Leetspeak lexicon is the fact that the
former is being accepted in standard language. As the Leetspeak lexicon is being used more
frequently, some terms might be accepted in official dictionaries in the future. (see 5.2.9)
5.2.6 Unconventional capitalization
60. ―so true.. memory these days is like government cheese, unless you pay to get the
H4X0R brand high-speed memory. But why bother when you can just buy MORE
cheap memory and get better performance than overclocking anyways?‖
Anonymous - 02/28/08 – 4chan
In this extract ―H4X0R‖ and ―MORE‖ are emphasized by means of capitalization. ―H4X0R‖
or ―haxor‖ consists of the verb ―to hack‖ and the suffix ―-zor‖. The final consonant cluster of
the verb and the initial consonant of the suffix are replaced with ―x,‖ based on the sound
resemblance. Here ―haxor‖ is used as an adjective, modifying the noun ―brand‖. The author
probably means ―a fancy brand‖, one which techie kids (or people with a lot of knowledge on
the subject) would advice you to buy. ―Overclocking‖ is a technological term, referring to a
54
process which increases the performance of your computer. ―Anyways‖ is a colloquial
expression, revealing the influence speech has on Netspeak. In formal written language use,
adverbs never appear in an ungrammatical plural form. The use of capitalization in order to
emphasize something, is a characteristic of Internet language.
61. ―HAY GUISE!!! WHAT BE IRL STAND FOR?!?!??‖
Anonymous - 02/22/08 – 4chan
―Hay guise‖ replaces ―Hey guys‖, because both of them are read as /heI gaIz/. The author is
asking what the acronym ―irl‖ (In Real Life) stands for. He mistakenly uses the verb ―to be‖
as an auxiliary, instead of ―to do‖. Moreover, he does not conjugate the verb. He is in fact
using Lolspeak to mock the people who do not understand the acronym. The message should
be read in a sarcastic way. The capitals are not used for emphasis, but are used in a sarcastic
way as well.
62. tHIS tHREAD iS A pRETTY cOOL gUY, eH sAGE'S aND dOESN'T aFRAID oF
aNYTHING.
Anonymous - 03/05/08 – 4chan
This extract is an illustration of incorrect use of capitals. The rules of capitalization have been
reversed: the first letter of a word is written in lowercase letter, while the remainder is written
in uppercase letters. Normally only the first word of a sentence is capitalized, but here the
capitalization infects every word. This corruption of capitalization is influenced by Leetspeak.
Again this extract should be read in a sarcastic way. First of all, the author refers to the thread
as being a ―guy‖, i.e. a human being. Secondly ―to be‖ and ―to do‖ are being mixed up. These
kind of grammatical errors are a characteristic of Lolspeak. ―Sage‖ refers to the act of posting
a message without bumping a thread on 4chan, as can be read on their Frequently Asked
Questions page: ―Entering "sage" (by itself) into the [E-mail] field while replying will cause
the thread not to bump to the top of the page, while still counting against its reply count.‖
32
While capital letters usually serve to add emphasis to a word or phrase in Netspeak, we notice
capitalization has been given a new function. It is used to mock excitement and clueless
behaviour. This illustrates the strong gap between the ―leet‖ and the ―noobs‖. The former are
still trying to protect their obscure group and exclude inexperienced newcomers. Words are
not capitalized in a conventional way. We would expect to see either the initial letter of a
word or the entire word in capitals. Instead we notice that any letter can be capitalized
55
randomly. First person singular ―I‖ is often written in minuscule, a trend which can be spotted
in all types of online or electronic communication.
5.2.7 Abbreviations
63. ―Did you even read what I said? I sad stalling the engine is no more damaging than
shutting it off normally. Hence not damaging at all. Lrn2read.‖
Anonymous - 02/29/08 – 4chan
64. ―Lol what? no one is bagging on their sense of style. Even though most of them are
idiots who try too hard to be esoteric.
L2read.‖
Anonymous - 02/22/08 – 4chan
―Lrn2read‖ and ―L2read‖ both stand for ―learn to read‖. Learn is shortened to ―lrn‖ or ―l,‖
while ―to‖ is replaced with the number ―2‖. Both of these and the verb which they
accompany, are written without spacing (intentional typographical error). A member has to be
familiar with this phenomenon in order to understand its meaning. The board is once again
divided into the in-crowd and the outsiders. The fact that there is no spacing, makes it harder
to decipher. The second example also includes the acronym ―lol‖.
65. That doesn't do shit when there's camera shake.
lrn2holdcamera
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
Based on the previous expressions, the remark added in the end of this message should be
read as ―learn to hold a camera‖. The abbreviation of ―learn to X‖ is a popular phenomenon
on 4chan, but cannot be found on the other two message boards. It should therefore not be
regarded as Leetspeak, but as a craze, a habit confined to one board.
66. ―gb2/b/plz‖
Anonymous - 02/28/08 – 4chan
―Gb‖ is an initialism for ―Go Back.‖ The number ―2‖ stands for ―to‖, while ―plz‖ replaces
―please‖. The author of this message is asking another user to please go back to /b/, which is a
subforum of 4chan in which random topics can be discussed. Again the lack of spacing
between different words makes the interpreting this message more difficult.
67. ―ITT your favorite hockey team
56
Picture *VERY* related (no Zednik jokes plzkthx)‖
Anonymous - 02/20/08 – 4chan
―ITT‖ stands for ―In This Topic.‖ The user is asking the other members to post pictures of
their favourite hockey team in the thread. He adds that the picture he has attached to his
message is very related or ―on topic‖, meaning that the picture features his favourite hockey
team. The emphasis is on ―very‖, because it is written in capital letters and surrounded with
asterisks. ―Plzkthx‖ actually consists of three words, though there are no spaces left between
them. It can be rephrased as: ―Please? Okay? Thanks.‖
68. ―Laten we het nu allemaal onthouden. Voor eens en voor altijd.
Kkthxbye‖
Teunerd – 06-22-07 – Filologica Forum
―K‖ is often used in combination with ―thx‖. The repetition of ―k‖ in this extract might
represent Korean laughter imitation, though it is more likely the author uses it merely as a
repetition of the abbreviation of ―okay‖.
Abbreviations are often associated with Leetspeak, though their genesis is more closely
related to general language use on the Internet. Some abbreviations are used widely, while
others are restricted to a certain message board.
5.2.8 Lol, I lolled for the lulz
69. ―lol you made them in paint and didn't manage to fit the pic right so you get HUGE
white parts on your pics rofl‖
Anonymous - 02/13/08 – 4chan
70. ―lol you are angry at the internet‖
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
71. lol, i hope this thread is a troll
Anonymous - 12/21/07 – 4chan
All of these extracts contain the acronym ―lol‖. The first one also contains ―rofl‖. The
acronyms indicate that the author is laughing, or thinks something is funny. They make up for
the lack of body language in online communication. The author from the last message thinks a
certain thread is ridiculous, and expresses his opinion by stating that he hopes the thread is a
troll, meaning written for non-serious reasons. The use of capitals in the first extract
emphasizes the huge size of the white parts on the picture.
57
72. ―lulz@ car 'facts' from top gear, do you get your news from the sun?‖
Anonymous - 02/18/08 – 4chan
73. ―Doesn't it balance itself out with Japan's overfishing?
Really, lulz.‖
Anonymous - 01/10/08 – 4chan
74. ―Mijn zeldzame notities die aantonen dat, als ik in de les raak 's morgens, er eigenlijk
niet zou moeten zitten omdat ik te moe ben. Zo las ik daarnet bijvoorbeeld: "Women
yous more tag questions." Lawl‖
Woody – 10/26/04 – Filologica forum
While ―lol‖ is an expression often used in online communication, ―lulz‖ or ―lawl‖ are variants
used only by Leetspeakers. When you are only joking and are not taking a matter seriously,
you ―are doing it for the lulz‖. In this expression ―lulz‖ is used as a noun.
75. ―Meet The Spartans looks so fucking win.
Aw, it's Happy Feet
WHO YOU CALLIN HAPPY CRACKA!
I lol irl everytime @ that.‖
Anonymous - 01/06/08 – 4chan
76. ―i lol'd and i don't know why‖
Anonymous - 12/30/07 – 4chan
77. ―I lawl'd because it's true.‖
Anonymous - 02/17/08 – 4chan
78. ―Good movie. I've downloaded it without knowing anything about film and enjoyed
Keys and loled at Affleck.‖
Anonymous - 02/13/08 – 4chan
79. ―I like the songs "My Only" and the cover of "Milkshake". I loled the first time I heard
that song.‖
The Last Firstborn. – 02/03/08 - Geekstinkbreath
80. ―I lolled quite hard.‖
Michiel – 12/01/05 – Filologica forum
The acronym ―lol‖ or its equivalent ―lawl‖ can be used as a verb as well. The past tense can
be spelled out in different ways: either with an apostrophe ―lol‘d‖ or without ―loled‖. The
58
doubling of the ―l‖ can be found as well: ―lolled‖. In the first extract of this series, ―win‖ is
used as an adjective.
The acronym ―lol‖ usually obtains an initial or final position. It is becoming less and less
associated with the original phrase ―laughing out loud‖ and is becoming an expression in
itself. It can even be used as a noun or a verb. ―Lol‖ and its equivalents occur in abundance,
so readers will not be flabbergasted when a member is claiming to be ―rolling on the floor‖
once again. It seems the excessive presence of these sort of acronyms in online
communication has desensitized people. If a member wants his words to have a larger impact,
he can turn to the absurd blends ―lollercoaster,‖ ―lollerskates‖ or even ―roflcopter‖. These
hardly ever go by unnoticed. Or he can avoid the risk of face-loss and simply draw more
attention to his words by repeating a syllable: ―roflololololol‖.
81. ―stare at the sun ofzoiets van thrice is best mooi. Heb hier zelfs ergens een vergeten cd
liggen . lololol‖
Nemelendelle – 01/18/08 – Filologica forum
5.2.9 The etymology of “w00t”
82. ―w00t! I might make a special birthday graphic!‖
bjtp – 08/23/07 – Geekstinkbreath
83. ―Ik zit al op pagina 21 van de "Basiscursus InDesign CS", w00t.‖
Teunerd – 07/08/08 – Filologica forum
Some claim ―woot‖ or ―w00t‖ is an acronym for ―We Owned the Other Team‖
33
, or in other
words: ―we have beaten the other team gloriously‖. It was therefore a highly context-related
expression, used only in games. Most people using it on message boards are unaware of that
connotation. They use it to express general feelings of excitement or unexpected joy. In this
case, we notice a trend which Karl Sornig called the ―eclipse of etymological memory‖.
(Sornig, 12) People tend to forget what words originally signified, which causes semantic
change.
Others believe the previous explanation is an example of ―etymological fallacy‖. They claim
the phrase ―We Owned the Other Team‖ is a ―backronym‖, which means it was constructed
after the word had come into existence. Such errors are called folk etymology or popular
33 The second definition on Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/): ―w00t was originally an
acronym for "we owned other team" but used 1337$p34|< for some of the letters(w00t instead of woot). It is now
commonly used as an interjection of joy.‖
59
etymology: people try to guess where words come from, but are often mistaken.
Lexicographer Grant Barrett posted an entry dedicated to the term ―woot‖ on his award
winning blog ―Double-Tongued Dictionary‖. He says ―woot‖ has been around before
Leetspeakers started to use it. ―After a couple of examples of ―whoot‖ or ―woot‖ as an
onomatopoeic representation of video game sounds in news stories from 1982, the earliest
clear-cut use of the word found so far is in the name of the Atlantic City, N.J., entertainment
tabloid The Whoot! […]Current AC Weekly editor Michael Epifanio says that The Whoot was
so-named by founder Lew Steiner after ―night owls who would pull all-nighters to scout out
the bars, clubs and restaurants and then send the publication out to print.‖ (Barrett, online)
According to Barrett, another theory with little adherents is that ―Woot‖ is a blend of ―Wow,
loot!‖ or ―Wondrous loot,‖ expressions from games like ―Dungeons and Dragons‖ and
―Everquest‖. He suggests that the word originated in the dance scene: ―The most likely
explanation, as is usually the case, is far simpler. Woot is, with some caveats, probably
derived from and most likely popularized by the dance catch phrase of 1993, ―whoot, there it
is!‖ In clubs and on dance floors across the country, in half-time shows and in baseball
stadiums, ―whoot, there it is‖ and plain old ―woot!‖ were shouted long and loud by millions.
It was used by hype men at hip-hop shows, dancers and cheerleaders at ball games, DJs at
discos, and probably by ball-callers at bingos.‖ (Barrett, online)
Unfortunately pinpointing one clarification and accepting it as the universal truth is
impossible, as is often the case when dealing with etymological enigmas. Whether it
originated in multiplayer games or in the music industry, the fact remains that gamers
contributed to the spreading of ―woot‖. The popularity of the variant ―w00t,‖ in which the
vowels are replaced with numbers, proves that Leetspeak played an important role. One could
wonder why the word was spread via computer-mediated communication, if it in fact
originated from popular dance music. This could lead us to accepting the gaming theory
rather than Barrett‘s suggestion. One of the obstacles in this discussion is the lack of sources.
When trying to find out whether ―woot‖ was used on IRC channels before songs like ―Whoot,
there it is‖ were released, we need larger archives. Many of the conversations on IRC have
been lost forever, because they were not recorded at the time.
The discussion on the etymology of ―woot‖ was heated when it was named word of the year
in December 2007 by Merriam-Webster: ―Thousands of you took part in the search for
Merriam-Webster‘s Word of the Year for 2007, and the vast majority of you chose a small
word that packs a pretty big punch. The word you've selected hasn't found its way into a
60
regular Merriam-Webster dictionary yet—but its inclusion in our online Open Dictionary,
along with the top honors it's now been awarded—might just improve its chances.‖
34
1.W00t
6. Sardoodledom
2. Facebook 7. Apathetic
3. Conundrum 8. Pecksniffian
4. Quixotic
9. Hypocrite
5.Blamestorm 10. Charlatan
Table 5.1: Top Ten List ―Word of the year‖ in 2007, http://www.merriam-webster.com/,
retrieved on 07/14/08
5.2.10 Generalization of pwning n00bs
84. Hey man I'm just giving advice to the n00b.
Anonymous - 01/26/08 – 4chan
85. How are they a newb? Really high and mighty of you to assume that they don't know
anything about ferrets. How do you know that ferret didn't get into something sticky or
gross?
Get a life.
Anonymous - 01/26/08 – 4chan
86. I am a noob at photography ( and will not pretend otherwise) just wanted to thank
some of you here as lurking /p/
35
has helped me gain knowledge in this field
Anonymous - 02/18/08 - 4chan
87. GGGGGGRRRRRRR i hatez being a noob, i used to have an account but i lost it, i
dont know what happened to it, and i honestly forgot the name of it (XD)
theGDfan94SG – 03/19/08 – Geekstinkbreath
Whereas a ―n00b‖ was originally someone new and inexperienced in gaming or Leetspeak,
the word has now gained a broader meaning. It can be spelled as ―noob‖ or ―newb‖ as well.
Extract number 87 contains a lot of Netspeak characteristics: sound imitation (the capitalized
―GGGGGGRRRRRRR‖), the lack of proper capitalization (the first person singular pronoun
―I‖ is not capitalized), the lack of punctuation (no apostrophe in ―don‘t‖ and no period at the
end of the phrase) and the use of smileys (―XD‖ represents a face with eyes closed while
broadly smiling). The construction of the sentence is rather dubious, it seems to reflect the
stream of thoughts. The verb ―to hate‖ is not conjugated correctly: the morpheme ―z‖
(replacing ―s‖) is an indicator of the third person singular, though the subject is first person
35 The board on 4chan dedicated to photography
61
singular. This grammatical error is a reflection of the fact that the author is a (self-proclaimed)
noob.
88. ―There might be some people who know me from INO
36
.
I know message board etiquette and everything after being on INO over a year, so you
don‘t have to worry about another n00b coming in to the boards.‖
schmetallica. – 03/24/08 – Geekstinkbreath
Noobs are usually not welcomed with open arms on message boards. They are unfamiliar
with netiquette, or etiquette on the Web. For example, newcomers might not realize that
messages written entirely in capitalized letters are read as ―shouting‖ and can therefore come
across as ―insulting‖ or ―rude‖.
89. ―yeah, so I got first post and I pwn you all‖
Meski – 03/28/08 – Geekstinkbreath
On message boards it is considered an achievement to ―get first post‖ or be the first one to
reply. The author has therefore ―pwned‖ the other members.
90. ―Ik heb het weer eens geflikt. Trojan horses, spyware, malware, foutmeldingen, en
nog van dat leuks, hebben m'n pc weer naar de kloten geholpen.
Iemand nog van recente wondermiddelen gehoord? Een veilig internet bvb?
Altijd owned by self als het op informatica aankomt.‖
Woody – 01/20/08
Semantic changes can be spotted when we look at the use of the words ―own‖ and ―noob‖. A
―noob‖ is no longer a novice at gaming, but could be new at anything: a new member on the
board, a recently started photographer,… The term can also refer to people who are ignorant
in certain areas. In gaming you ―own‖ someone by defeating them in a humiliating way. In a
more general usage, you can ―own‖ someone by giving a sarcastic remark or pointing out
their mistakes. There need not always be an external force: you can get ―owned‖ by yourself
when you do something to make a fool out of yourself. You can get owned by inanimate
objects as well: for example when your computer crashes just when you are about to save an
important document. Initially these terms belonged to the gaming word, but they were later
gained a broader meaning. This is called extension or generalization: ―A lexeme widens its
meaning. Numerous examples of this process have occurred in the religious field, where
36 Probably refering to the message board from ―I‘m Not Okay,‖ a fan site dedicated to the band ―My Chemical
Romance): http://www.imnotokay.net/
62
office, doctrine, novice and many other terms have taken on a more general, secular range of
meanings.‖ (Crystal: 2003, 138)
5.2.11 Morpheme “-zor”
91. ―Ik vind de affiche pretty fucking rox0r, en ga bijgevolg vrij tot zeer zeker.‖
Fred Astaire – 04/20/08 – Filologica forum
92. ―the wipers - telepathic love, awmgadzorz‖
photek - 12/27/04 – Filologica forum
In these extracts the suffix ―-zor‖ or ―-z0r‖ is added to respectively an adjective and an
abbreviation. The verb ―to rock‖ is used as an adjective, to which the suffix is then added:
―rockz0r‖. The combination of the vowels in the middle of the word is replaced with the letter
―x,‖ because they are both pronounced in the same way. ―Awmgad‖ stands for ―oh my god‖.
5.2.12 The awesomeness
93. ―I meant to say I like your taste. The pins are le awesome.‖
Anonymous - 02/22/08 – 4chan
94. ―Im new, so I apologise for the newbieness off my profile etc etccc.
I Looooove Billie Joe – He is le awesome.‖
lawrawwr – 03/12/2008 – geekstinkbreath
In both of these extracts the French article ―le‖ is used in front of the adjective ―awesome‖.
They enhance the degree of the adjective‘s quality, and could be replaced with ―very‖. In the
second extract ―newbie‖ is combined with the suffix ―-ness‖. All of these features belong to
Leetspeak. In the following extracts ―-ness‖ is added to ―awesome‖ and ―nice,‖ turning them
into nouns. The capitals in extract 95 are used for emphasis and to express excitement.
95. THIS IS NOW THE NEW LEVEL OF AWESOMENESS!
Anonymous - 07/18/08- 4chan
96. ―Het tegen alle verwachtingen in gisteren nog vrij laat maken met allerlei ongein.
Niceness.‖
Siddhartha – 07/13/02 – Filologica Forum
―Awesome‖ can be used as a noun without any morphological changes as well, as can be seen
in extract 97. The verb ―win‖ is converted into a noun as well.
63
97. they are made of awesome and win.
Anonymous - 02/17/08 – 4chan
5.2.13 Paralanguage
98. ―They all have their strengths and weaknesses.
"PS3 is superior" is a subjective, and therefore not logical statement to win an
argument.
/thread.‖
Anonymous - 07/13/08 – 4chan
99. ―The Condemned sounds like a rip off of the movie Battle Royal. now thats a good
movie [/spam]‖
Neosteph – 10/05/07 - Geekstinkbreath
100. ―mine too.
IT WAS RIGGED I SAY......./caps‖
Chris Fafalios – 05/18/08 - Geekstinkbreath
Leetspeakers make use of tags in order to indicate the beginning and the end of something.
When the opening tag is dropped, we can assume that the opening tag coincides with the
beginning of the message. As is shown in the extracts above, the angle brackets can be
dropped or be replaced with square brackets. In the first extract the author thinks he has
beaten his opponents, resulting in the end of the discussion and therefore the end of the
thread. The author in the following extract realizes that the message is off-topic. By adding
―[/spam]‖ to the message, the author indicates that he will return ―on topic‖ after the post. The
use of these tags require some basic knowledge on the principles of HTML. The tags have
become more popular among internet users and are now used more widely. A large group of
people using them lack any knowledge on HTML, resulting in the production of various
erroneous constructions. In the first extract below ―end‖ is superfluous, because the stroke
already indicates the end of the action. In the second extract the opening tag should not
contain a stroke.
101. ―Family guy pwns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [/end exclamation mark abuse]
Swooney Todd. – 01/10/2006
102. ―[/ironie] Of wij ook tijd voor andere vakken nodig hebben? Maar neen hoor!
[/ironie]‖
Netje – 05/20/08 – The Filologica Forum
64
6. Leetspeak beyond the internet.
As stated before, Leetspeak can never fully be transmitted to oral language. Its development
was marked by the use of keyboards and this has left an indelible mark on the slang.
However, in the future the Leetspeak lexicon might at one point be accepted in dictionaries.
Some words are already being used in oral language. In the episode ―Make love not Warcraft‖
(season 10, episode 8) of the animated series ―Southpark‖ several characters use Leetspeak.
The episode is dedicated to the game ―World of Warcraft‖.
Randy: I have a Warcraft character. I'm a newb, but I can log on and get the sword to
Stan online.
[…]
Cartman: Looks like you're about to get pwned.
―W00t‖ was chosen word of the year by Merriam-Webster, which improves its chance to be
accepted in official dictionaries. In 2006 the verb ―to google‖ reached second place in that
year‘s poll . It can now be found in the Oxford English Dictionary:
To Google, v:
1. intr. To use the Google search engine to find information on the Internet.
2. trans. To search for information about (a person or thing) using the Google search
engine.
The company ―Google,‖ however, did not applaud the verb‘s admittance to the dictionary.
―Google's problem is one of the paradoxes of having a runaway successful brand. The bigger
it gets, the more it becomes part of everyday English language and less a brand in its own
right. Just as we talk about "hoovering" instead of vacuuming, people have started to say
"google" to mean search. The word has become an eponym.‖ (Duffy, online) In February
2003, Paul McFedries, received a mail (see below) from a trademark counsel after publicly
posting a definition of ―to google‖ on his website. McFedries is the owner of wordspy
(http://www.wordspy.com), a site which keeps track of new words and phrases.
65
Dear Mr. McFedries:
I am trademark counsel for Google. I have recently become aware of a definition of
"google" on your website, www.wordspy.com. This definition implies that "google" is
a verb synonymous with "search." Please note that Google is a trademark of Google
Technology Inc. Our brand is very important to us, and as I'm sure you'll understand,
we want to make sure that when people use "Google," they are referring to the
services our company provides and not to Internet searching in general. I attach a copy
of a short, informative piece regarding the proper use of "Google" for your
reference.
We ask that you help us to protect our brand by deleting the definition of "google"
found at wordspy.com or revising it to take into account the trademark status of
Google.
The current wordspy article on the verb contains the following note: ―Note that Google™ is a
trademark identifying the search technology and services of Google Technologies Inc.‖
7. Conclusion
Slang arises out of fear, secretiveness and playfulness. All of these factors indeed played a
role in the case of Leetspeak. Hackers feared to get caught by word filters and invented a new
alphabet. Leetspeak then further developed and became a tool with which gamers and hackers
distinguished themselves from others. The secret code created a gap between their subculture
and the outsiders. As the popularity of Leetspeak increased, more and more people were able
to crack the code. Now Leetspeak is primarily used because it ―makes things sound funny‖.
People love playing around with language, and Leetspeak gives them an opportunity to do so.
A second function of the slang is its decorative aspect. Gamers use the Leet alphabet to
embellish their nicknames. Haters find the use of Leetspeak on message boards irritating and
see it as a deterioration of language. Another way of looking at it, is that it used precisely by
those who are well aware of language and its different functions. Moreover, many of the
accusations are based on misconceptions about Leetspeak. It is important that we distinguish
between Leetspeak, Netspeak, Lolspeak and AOL speak.
The most striking feature of Leetspeak is its alphabet. The new alphabet is limited by
hardware and software. Firstly you are bound to the series of characters your keyboard
provides you with. Secondly, the programme you are using needs to recognize the symbols.
66
Any given letter from the Roman alphabet can be replaced with any other character or a series
of characters. The replacement of the letters is based on similarity in either typography or
sound. The number ―3‖ can replace ―e‖ because it looks like a reversed capital ―E,‖ and with a
little bit of imagination we can see a capital ―E‖ in the following combination of a square
bracket and hyphen: ―[-‖. Both of these can therefore be used to substitute for the letter ―e,‖
but both will never occur in one single message. You have to be consistent when translating a
message into Leetspeak, and can therefore type either ―r3sp3ct‖ or ―r[-sp[-ct,‖ but never
―r3sp[-ct‖. ―Ph‖ on the other hand replaces ―f‖ because of their similar pronunciation.
Because of the fact that several characters can represent on single letter, the Leet code is
rather dubious. At times it is hard to tell where one letter stops and another one begins. The
reversed process is more rare: there are few occasions in which a combination of letters is
replaced with one character. Examples are the ―f‖ replacing ―ph‖ or ―x‖ replacing ―cks‖, both
of which are based on similarity in sound. The most popular replacing characters are the
numbers, in particular ―0,‖ ―1,‖ ―3‖ and ―4,‖ equivalents of respectively ―o,‖ ―i,‖ ―e‖ and ―a‖.
Soft Leetspeak, in which only a limited number of letters are exchanged (usually for
numbers), is used more frequently on message boards. Hardcore Leetspeak is harder to
decipher and its translation process takes up more time.
One of the most common misconceptions concerning Leetspeak is that its encoding is
confused with rebus writing. This is a process in which syllables or entire words are replaced
with a single character, for example ―u‖ for ―you‖ or ―2‖ for ―to‖. The purpose of rebus
writing is saving time, which does not coincide with the aims of Leetspeak. People who
disapprove of rebus writing think it is a demonstration of laziness and carelessness. Phonetic
spelling is often mistaken for Leetspeak as well. Words are being written in the way which
they are pronounced, for example ―nite‖ instead of ―night‖.
A second feature which characterizes the Leetspeak spelling, are typographical errors.
Hackers deliberately put typo‘s in their texts for the same reason they encoded their messages:
escaping word filters. For example the term ―pron‖ instead of ―porn‖ would not be picked up
by filters. There has always been a strong desire in people to mention linguistic taboos, but at
the same time there was fear of crossing the interdiction of naming certain things. In the case
of hackers, the fear was not so much social stigma, but getting caught during illegal activities.
Two types of intentional typo‘s are legion on message boards: those caused by neighbouring
keys and inverted strikes. An illustration of the former is the swapping of ―o‖ and ―p‖. On an
azerty keyboards the key for ―o‖ and the key for ―p‖ are placed next to each other. It is
therefore not uncommon to accidentally mix up these two letters. The most popular inverted
67
typing is ―teh‖ instead of ―the‖. Other common inverted typo‘s are found in words consisting
of one syllable and ending in ―-e‖: ―tiem‖ for ―time‖ or ―liek‖ for ―like‖. The incorrect use of
the shift key, resulting in alternation between upper-case and lower-case letters can also be
rated among typographical errors. A striking consequence of shift lock abuse is the replacing
of the exclamation mark with the number ―1‖ or ―8‖. On an azerty keyboard the exclamation
mark and the number ―8‖ are placed on the same key, while it is combined with ―1‖ on a
qwerty keyboard. Again this feature of spelling is influenced by hardware: typographical
errors are first of all a characteristic of typography and secondly the nature of the typo‘s
depend on the preferences of your keyboard (azerty or qwerty).
When gamers started to use the Leetspeak alphabet in online games, IRC channels and
message boards, the slang began to grow. It developed its own lexicon and grammatical
features. The slang was preserved for an exclusive group, also called ―the elite‖ or ―leet‖.
They used it to distinguish themselves from the newcomers or ―noobs‖. Originally a ―noob‖
was a novice at gaming, but eventually this term was generalized and could refer to any kind
of newcomer. ―Leet‖ can be used as an adjective to describe anything that is technologically
superior or considered to be of good quality. A person who is ―leet‖ is someone with a lot of
(computer) knowledge. In this context it is a synonym for ―hax‖. This term is derived from
the verb ―to hack‖. Whereas in standard language use ―hacker‖ receives a bad connotation, it
is used as a compliment in Leetspeak environments. The verb ―to own‖ is given a new
definition. It is used in games when someone is defeated in a humiliating way. Eventually this
term also gained a broader meaning: you can ―own‖ someone simply by humiliating them.
The difference between Leetspeak lexicon and Netspeak neologisms relies in the acceptance
in standard language. The Netspeak vocabulary is being accepted in ―ordinary‖ dictionaries.
However, like any other slang lexicon, some of the Leetspeak vocabulary might be included
in dictionaries in some point in the future. This acceptance depends on popularization.
―Woot,‖ an interjection used to express excitement or joy, was voted ―word of the year‖ on
the site of Merriam-Webster in 2007. The verb ―to google‖ received second place in a similar
poll from Merriam-Webster the year before. Meanwhile, ―to google‖ has been accepted into
the Oxford English Dictionary. The winning position of ―woot‖ enhances its chances to end
up in official dictionaries. Though the Leetspeak lexicon is being transmitted to oral language
use, and might at one point even be accepted in standard language use, true Leetspeak is in
some way bound to written communication. One of its main characteristics is the special
alphabet, which is completely lost in oral language use.
68
Though lexicon and spelling or the main areas in which Leetspeak stands out, some
grammatical novelties characterize the slang as well. Firstly, a new morpheme has been
created: ―-zor‖ or ―-xor‖. These suffixes do not cause word class conversion, nor influence the
semantic features of a word. They do seem to enhance the degree of quality of the word they
are attached to. Other elements which influence the degree of quality of adjectives are prefix
―über-‖ and the article ―the‖ or its French equivalent ―le‖. Word class conversion is obtained
by means of suffixes ―-ness‖ and ―-age,‖ or simply without any morphological changes.
Leetspeak should not be confused with Lolspeak, which is mainly characterized by
grammatical errors, for example the erroneous conjugation of verbs.
Language is highly influenced by the medium it is used in. While the language in online
communication on message boards resembles speech acts, there are some differences between
this type of communication and face-to-face conversations. Extralinguistic features, such as
emphasis and facial expressions are missing in online communication. People find new ways
to overcome these lacks: smileys, capitalization, the use of asterisks to express action, sound
imitations… These are general characteristics of Netspeak. Hackers started making use of
HTML tags to indicate the beginning or ending of a certain mood or action. This phenomenon
was eventually copied widely, and is now used on message boards as a new way of
expressing extra-linguistic features.
Though abbreviations and acronyms are associated with Leetspeak, they are not a
distinguishing feature of the slang. They are popular in any type of electronic communication,
because they enhance typing speed. Leetspeakers‘ fondness of abbreviations results not only
from its time-saving advantage, but from its obscurity as well. A user has to be familiar with
an abbreviation in order to understand it. In Leetspeak, abbreviations often occur in sequence,
with or without spacing left between them.
Leetspeak used to be the secret language of hackers and ―geeks,‖ but now it has evolved into
the language of ―residents‖ of the Internet.
69
8. Appendix
Appendix A
70
Appendix B
71
Appendix C
72
Appendix D
73
Appendix E
74
Appendix F
75
Appendix G
76
Appendix H
77
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